Posted at: Nov 2, 2017, 1:33 AM; last updated: Nov 2, 2017, 1:33 AM (IST)
An evening dedicated to a sculptor
Sculptor Avtarjeet Dhanjal being honoured during an audio-visual presentation in Bathinda on Tuesday. Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma
Nikhila Pant Dhawan
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, November 1
The Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi in association with the Sardar Sobha Singh Memorial Chittarkar Society organised a show, “Karam, Kirat te Kala”, at Teachers’ Home yesterday evening. The show was as a part of the akademi’s new series of interactive audio-visual presentations by well-known artistes in different cities of Punjab. The objective of the show is to expose artists and art lovers of the state to the latest developments in the world of visual arts.Famed sculptor Avtarjeet Dhanjal was in Bathinda to give an audio-visual presentation of his works through the show “Karam, Kirat te Kala”. He has been living in the UK for several decades. “No one can claim that he or she knows the reality around them. We and our realities are actually the products of the social, economic, religious and regional background where we belong to. Different people interpret reality in different ways depending on their background. These are the realities that I am trying to interpret through my works,” said Avtarjeet Dhanjal. “I had stopped making objects or sculptures for selling almost 20 years ago. Since then, I have been searching for the reality beyond the world of material objects. Objects are what we all can see, but what the naked eye can see is not necessarily what the object is. A religious person may interpret it in a different way vis-à-vis a student or a politician,” the sculptor explained. Not working with wood, stone or any other medium of sculpting, Dhanjal added that his recent works focus on the almost “taken for granted” aspects of silence, stillness, introspection and retrospection. “To be more creative, one has to look outside as well as inside when it comes to knowing the truth, the art, the real as well as the unreal. Being restricted to the world of the medium of painting, photography, installations, sculpting, is like using limited words and vocabulary to say what one wishes to. To be one with the art that you create, you need to be free from its limitations and boundaries, venture out, introspect and then express,” he added.After the show he also expressed his satisfaction with the younger generation of artists with whom he interacted. “The youngsters are open to new ideas, discussions and disciplines. They have the freedom and fervour required to explore new horizons. They bring a freshness to the world of fine arts and that is promising,” he said. The sculptor also added that during discussions, one also gets to know the background which one is coming through his works and his interpretations of others’ works.
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