Pankaj Chouhan
Untitled
Acrylic on Paper
2016
48 x 60 in
Looking past the obvious, close observation and engagement of the subject is my process. it is close to life and its existence, evolved through my lived experience in urban and rural spaces.
The challenge is to see beyond the distraction of the conspicuous to capture its unique self. There is a connection between human and an environment of order. Home is a place not only of comfort, but of control. This sense of order, in whatever form it takes, acts as a shield against the unpredictability and lurking chaos of the outside world. The city is fascinating and unique because of its structure, and that’s both an advantage and a hassle . when we think about complete destruction and a new beginning we start thinking environmental changes. Many working-class people shift from rural to urban areas in the hope of better lives. Within a city, migration happens to adjust with the rapid shape - shifting and urbanization of the city. In my oeuvre so far, I often explored the idea of migration and many of its facets. My acceptance of urban growth where there are lots of democratic and social transitions took place .
Tolerating and resting with the drastic change compels me to be patience to resist the action to cope with these destructions .India’s transition in an area of intense urbanization, which creates enormous social, economic and environmental changes. This unprecedented movement of people is forecast to continue and intensify during the next few decades, mushrooming cities to sizes unthinkable only a century ago, have questions of survival because it’s affecting our ozone layer and we are finding a better place of respiration. Now it’s impossible to breathe in under the sky as we have most populated, most polluted environment all around us. It creates a kind of ambiguity between reality and unreality, chaos of culture and a spiritual quest.
Courtesy of Roy Thomas