Conversations in Colour
Homeland People, a curatorial initiative, invites the viewer to a space where memory, identity and belonging are explored through painting, sculpture, ceramics and experimental forms.
The innovative experience is housed in a new gallery co-founded by architect Sona Reddy and music executive Deepti ‘Deej’ Jasti. The area was named BU and maintains adherence to the old rules. Instead of the typical gallery silence, the duo envisions a more conversational space, what Reddy calls a “living room for ideas.”
The exhibition, which runs until October 31, introduces the city to a collective of contemporary artists from Baroda and is curated by Rukshaan Krishna, known for his consistent advocacy of emerging voices in India’s modern art scene.
In the People of the Homeland exhibition, Reddy, Jasti and Krishna, all visual artists, bring together 20 artists who do not need spectacle or neat thematic closure. His works appear differently for everyone.
Importantly, many of the participating painters, sculptors, printmakers, and ceramists have chosen to allow their work to be discussed anonymously. According to Krishna, their decisions stem from a shared intention to dismantle the hierarchy that often determines how art is viewed. “This anonymity allows the work to breathe without labels,” he says. “It eliminates name and reputation bias, allowing emotion and technique to take center stage.”
“Artists explore the multifaceted concept of belonging and the dilemmas it brings,” Krishna explains. “Through their chosen mediums, each artist creates a space where humor, beauty, pain, and joy coexist, encouraging us to perceive the world through the lens of curiosity.”
The compelling works are dense, layered compositions that are abstract but rarely distant. Chaos often gives way to an intimate choreography consisting of soft brush strokes and sculptural textures that call on the subconscious. Clay, fiber, brick or pigment; each material feels charged with personal and collective histories.
“This isn’t about who did what,” says Jasti. “It’s about how these works make you feel: discomfort, nostalgia, even joy. We wanted to create a space where art is friendly, not scary.”
It can be watched until October 31 at Vatan Halkı Odaterapi Collective.
Jubilee Hills.
