HOMING IN

LINA VINCENT SUNISH
What is the meaning of home, asks Karl Antao in his recently concluded exhibition ‘Mind the Home’ at Sumukha Gallery, Bangalore. The artist, in his exquisite sculptures looks at the meaning of being sheltered and being loved, and problematizes the relationship between home and the world, writes Lina Vincent Sunish. Karl Antao’s solo exhibition of sculptures ‘MIND the HOME’ seemed striking from the very first view – the sculptures were scaled large, filling the large gallery space with their presence. The muted colouring and the textures of hewn wood made for an aesthetically pleasing experience, building a pattern of stories that carried through with all the pieces on display. Even without the artist’s short note, that extolled ‘values’ as the bricks that make a home, it was possible to associate the imagery with ideas of sanctuary and refuge, both directly and metaphorically. The theme of the home has been looked at repeatedly, particularly in recent years by artists who are constantly observing and experiencing the conflicts arising from urbanisation and the interconnected situations of migration and dislocation, besides disintegration of social structures. The apparent old-ness of the theme however did not detract from the work, rather gave it a status of an accessible set of ideas, allowing points of entry to anyone who happened to have encountered it. Antao spoke of searching through his past, remembering his own status as one of six siblings, and the continuous interaction that came from sharing a home. He began to explore notions of belonging, and attachment, and the emotions of people associated with the making of a home. “Home, what is it in these times?” he asks the world in general. The sculptures draw out different answers and recollections; figures in expressive modes and gestures support other forms, or sometimes are supported themselves. Flowers, birds, fish and other creatures appear in these tableaux, in which the individual scale of objects becomes secondary to the fluidity of the overall shape. The artist seems adept at combining sculpture in the round with deep relief, contrasting smooth against rough, sharp against curved. The works teem with symbolic motifs, through which the artist has attempted to show varied layers of existence that might be interpreted differently by individuals. There seems a lot of give and take in the narratives, reflecting an intrinsic view into the working of family life. Being from Gujarat, his memory is alive with the notions of the joint family, of children being surrounded by many loving guardians – all of which is changing now in the age of the nuclear family. The nuclear is further being split into individual units. He remembers the days after the earthquake in Gujarat, when people ran from the dangers of a house, to huddle on the streets. And yet there were those already on the streets, content to sleep on the roadsides for the lack of any other choice. The situation is rather paradoxical – on the one hand we collect materials and make our homes comfortable and luxurious – and yet, what is the worth of the structure? What is a home without the people, the love, and the values? The quintessential ‘house’ form appears repeatedly within the works, at times held up by disembodied parts of the body – as if they were an extension of it; as totems, with sculptured finials of mutant forms; it appears also with a knife drawn through it, with semblance of red blood showing beneath. “I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any….” This quote by Gandhiji was something that affected Antao deeply, and enters conceptually into the narratives in the exhibition. One of the works has a central image of a bird within a cage, and yet its feet are free, so essentially it is not captive; its counterpart stands free by the side, awaiting something. It speaks of the subtle layers of freedom and imprisonment, as connected to a home, and also the notions of migration and homes away from home. The works are representative of personal memory and collective experience; they resonate with a kind of poetic feeling that arises both from the subject as well as the rhythmic symmetry and balance in the formal sense. What is most enjoyable is the sense of the artist’s gesture that lies in every contour and groove – something that one dissociates with work that is mechanically produced.