There are people who follow history. Then there are history enthusiasts. Srinivasa Babu Angara is slightly different from both. An artist, interior designer and sculptor, he studies history with a keen interest and goes on to paint scenes from history. His artworks include 3D recreations of maps of ancient cities and excavation sites. In his art show, Undeciphered, he shows his work, in which he drew inspiration from the studies of the Indus-Saraswathi civilisation. The majority of his artwork on display are acrylic on canvas. He also exhibits few steel in acetic acid sprayed over with metallic PU (colours). These sheets are a 3D representation of the street system from the Mohenjodaro civilisation.
His interest in history has led him to compare sign language, codes and the system of stamps. In doing so Srinivasa shows what the aesthetics of colours can do to something as simple as a painting of symbols and ancient number system.
Srinivasa’s narratives of history from books are a burst of colour. Changing the angle and the position you view the painting will reflect a different narrative.
Visitors at the show
One such art work is the red jasper torso from Harappa. A casual look at the art work will reveal a geometric pattern of red; move away, you will see a torso.
His Meluhha is a map representing the north western part of India. Srinivasa explains, “Meluhha is supposed to be the ancient name of the land in the north western region which falls between the Himalayas and the Arabian Sea. A great civilisation, which was primarily egalitarian flourished on the banks of rivers Indus and Saraswathi. It stretches over 2 million square kilometres, and 1181 sites have been discovered to date. Around 10 could be called cities, which are more than 100 hectares. The people of the Indus-Saraswathi civilisation used to trade with far-off lands like Mesopotamia and Egypt. Meluhha was the name with which the Mesopotamians referred to it in their records written in Cuneiform language.”
While viewing this artwork, viewers wonder why the Arabian Sea has an almost purple shade. Srinivasa explans, “The depth of the ocean makes it dark and mysterious. The heavy shade of blue, masked in an almost purple shade is what one sees as one sails away from the shore.”
Another striking feature of the artist’s work is the texture he creates with colours. The history lover in him uses symbols from the Indus script as design elements. In one of the paintings, the famous dancing girl figurine from Harappan civilisation is juxtaposed against a present-day tribal girl to “draw a comparison. We are not so different from our ancestors,” adds Srinivasa.
The artist also seemed impressed with the practise of using a seal at that time. His work points out that most seals used at that time had a commonly recurring symbol — the unicorn.
Undeciphered by Srinivasa Babu Angara is on display at Chitramayee State Gallery of Art till August 18.