Collection: Durgadas Garai

Voicing the pain of the calamity-struck

My art speaks of the struggle of those who have suffered in life, amid innumerable challenges. I try to capture conflict in my work despite not being physically present during a tragedy — it is my effort to depict that pain to society at large. One theme of mine has been drawn from the Bhopal Gas Tragedy of 1984 — those afflicted by this disaster shared their sorrow through generations to follow. After all these years, there is a sense of pain in that air, which guided me to create and compose imagery that tries to give voice to that agony in print. More recently, in 2018, the state of Kerala experienced the worst floods it had seen in nearly a century — a severe natural disaster caused by unusually high rainfall. Many were injured and killed, millions were evacuated, and the suffering was inescapable. The incident was also a clear indication of the havoc of global warming. All these elements have been distilled into my art that aims to highlight this reality.

Respecting the depiction of such work requires much research, gathering of information, assessment and careful presentation of thoughts and information on calamities, via my creative process. There is no dearth of such influences around, today, thanks to unchecked human activity.