Art in the time of lockdown: The brilliant artists of India share their COVID-19 diaries.

 Art in the time of lockdown: The brilliant artists of India share their NOVAL CORONA VIRUS diaries.

Modern artists such as Jogen Chowdhury, Rekha Rodwittiya, Sudarshan Shetty and many more, about the place of art and creativity during a pandemic.

Jogen Chowdhury

 

He is 81 years old and he lives in Kolkata.In March, Japanese collector Masanori Fukuoka was supposed to organize a solo exhibition of Jogen Chowdhury’s work in Delhi but the pandemic put a stop to the plan. Weeks later, the artist, who has just finished his term at the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of Parliament, as a Trinamool Congress representative, had planned to travel to the Capital to complete the formalities of handover. But doctors advised the 81-year-old to stay home. Since then, Chowdhury, his wife and son have been confined to their apartment in south Kolkata. Sometimes, he looks out of a window at a water body nearby, overlooking a children’s playground. “The scene fills me with a feeling of freshness," he says.

Rekha Rodwittiya 

Age 61,  She lives in Vadodara. Rekha Rodwittiya’s practice has always drawn from her experiences—it could be the way she negotiates the world, an urgent ecological concern, or something else just as pressing. No wonder then that the ongoing pandemic has had a profound impact on her. “It’s impossible that the powerfulness of such an event in our history can leave anyone untouched," says the Vadodara-based artist. “It permeates my consciousness and obliges me to view the occurrence as a part of the reality that I am living in."

Sudarshan Shetty 

He was 59, he lives in Mumbai. As we speak, Sudarshan Shetty seems to be in a contemplative mood. “We are processing so much information about the pandemic on a daily basis. There is a great deal of confusion about what is true," he says. The past four months have been a time for reflection, with the Mumbai-based artist assimilating his feelings on the events unfolding. “The pain of the migrant workers walking to their home towns has left a deep impression on me. I don’t know how it may enter my work in the future" says Shetty.

The artist, whose practice covers painting, sculpture, installation, video, sound and performance, has not actively produced work in this phase. His sculptural practice, especially the use of reclaimed teak wood to carve replicas of objects from flea markets, requires collaboration with a host of different people and small industries.