trilochan anand

The Shared Breath

जीव और वन = जीवन - The Shared Breath

A Solo Art Exhibition by

Trilochan Anand

Curatorial note by Jyoti A Kathpalia

Human life and the planet must remain in balance, complement each other and recognise the relation of need, love and sacredness. Only then can the planet be healed. It is with this thought that Trilochan Anand’s solo exhibition जीव और वन = जीवन -The Shared Breath

has been conceptualised and imaginatively created with enthralling visuals.

The exhibition जीव और वन = जीवन - The Shared Breath brings to view, a fascinating and mesmerising world where nurturing interconnections between all living beings, the flora and fauna integrate a vision of the beautiful, radiant earth. It is the vision of the shared Breath, an utterly moving and breath-taking surreal world created in dreamlike and mystical hues, where each living being’s breath is dependent on the other.

The idea of the sacredness of nature, which includes humans, animals, plants, has been a part of many ancient cultures and tribes. Trilochan’s artworks go back to this vision where nature was revered and seen as one with community, to be loved, cherished and respected. For instance, in the Maori culture ‘kaitiakitanga’ means the protection of ecology as a mark of respect for the ancestors as well as to secure the future. Most indigenous cultures in the world resonate with similar beliefs. In Indian culture, the preservation of nature is the preservation of humankind and the universe itself wherein each part cannot survive without the other and each is made of the essential Panchtatva or the five elements. The principle of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (the world as one family) and the underlying concept of non-violence (Ahimsa) is an integral part of Indian philosophy. Trilochan Anand attempts to look at ecological issues in a manner that evokes these ancient and indigenous systems of thought and knowledge in an international visual style creating stunning visuals around this theme.

According to Trilochan, “It is the vision that drives me. For me, it has never been the commercial. I cannot start painting unless I have a reason to. It is a strong thought or idea that motivates me. I delve deep into that thought, study it and discover various perspectives. It is then that my visual journey begins.” It is not surprising that his paintings demonstrate intense creativity as well as profound thought. It is this belief - that visual appeal strongly impacts the viewer emotionally and intuitively, and that art in its most sensitive and expressive forms can enact an intervention towards change, that gives this exhibition such passion and conviction.

Trilochan’s strength lies in his very strong technique coupled with his passion and belief. These qualities make give a strong emotional and as well as aesthetic appeal to his paintings. The figures are made with a rare artistic sensibility and imagination and the way the artist conceives the paintings enables a unique gestalt of human as part of the living planet. In the series Trilochan shows his mastery over the mediums of acrylic and oils. His brushstrokes are varied ranging from minimalist bold strokes to an alabaster, photographic finish.

In the artworks on display, Trilochan’s surrealist strokes and the figures that he creates emphatically express the universal base of humanity. There are no differentiators of race, class, country and this reimagination takes one back into the primal, surreal and mystical world of lush forests and humans. The figures are painted with a luxurious smoothness and fluidity. What is intriguing is how the artist reduces the differentiation between the male and the female figures, in portraying both with the beatific connections with nature and animals.

The hues of raw pink and especially the pink of a new-born is used by Trilochan, in the series on display titled Vulnerables, to astounding effect. Baby elephants, animals, sea life, birds, human figures painted in this colour which is further highlighted by the embossed black background effect that he skilfully creates. The remarkable verisimilitude to the forms as in the baby elephant, baby deer and other animals are rendered with such love that it shines through the canvas and touches the viewer.

The artworks take the viewer back to the very primordial instincts of nurture and compassion. Interestingly one of the most evocative artworks is where Trilochan shows a human whose body is made in the foliage with tendrils of green as her hair holding a triplet of baby elephants in her protective embrace. The facial expressions are brought out beautifully and the gaze of the woman as she looks straight out of the canvas at the viewer is a rare feat, capturing the strength, compassion, love and nurture and perhaps the gaze is also sad as it looks at the viewer reminding them of the responsibility that has been neglected.

What is also noteworthy is how Trilochan looks through this series where he shows the human male and female figures as the protectors and as the determiners of the fate of these vulnerables of the earth. The little embryos of baby elephant inside a human and as an inseparable part of the human establish an integral umbilical connection. This ethereal embrace between nature and living beings is the thematic core of the series on display. At times it is also a playful connection but always a connection of harmony of humans and the forests, the birds, animals, and sea life. The gesture, stance and placement of the bodies as almost suspended and the evocative strokes with which the artist conceives them bestows on them a sublime fluidity, and set against black, hearkens to the deepest and most primal memories of the womb and of the feeling of security, protection and love. The paintings tug at the viewer at this subconscious level, the images take the viewer back to the archetypes embedded deep in the collective unconscious and bring to surface what humanity has wilfully forgotten.