Launched in 2014, PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In the earlier 820 posts, we featured an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.
Krish Datta and Avik Bandyopadhyay founded MayinArt as a platform to promote art in Asia. This year, they hosted two art exhibitions in Singapore (Palette of Perspectives – Art is About You) and Indonesia (Renewal at ArtMoments Jakarta).
The exhibition in Singapore featured over 100 pieces by 55 artists from India, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and China. Held at Ion Art Gallery on Orchard Road, the Singapore exhibition was sponsored by DBS Bank.
As shown in this photo essay, the artists represent a diverse array of styles and mediums. See our coverage of earlier exhibitions by MayinArt here.
“India and Indonesia share a deep cultural affinity rooted in ancient traditions and artistic expressions. Both countries celebrate vibrant art forms that embody spiritual renewal and cultural rejuvenation, reflecting a shared reverence for heritage and creativity,” Avik Bandyopadhyay tells YourStory.
The second exhibition in Indonesia showed how art serves as a bridge between past and present, tradition and innovation. “Through this exhibition, we aim to highlight the timeless beauty and relevance of these cultural expressions, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of the rich artistic traditions that unite us,” Bandyopadhyay adds.
He is pleased with the reaction to the Art Moments Jakarta exhibition. “Renewal was quite successful in terms of crowd attendance and gallery sales,” he proudly says. Featured Indian artists included AG Nellagi, Saumya Bandyopadhyay, Venugopal VG, and Shan Re.
Some of the artworks are interpretations of cityscapes and urban nature. They promote the coexistence of urban development and natural ecosystems.
Other artists such as Saumya Bandyopadhyay capture the bull as a symbol of a loving spirit. Its power and virility preserve the human race and facilitate procreation.
Despite the drastic changes in climate patterns around the world and the growing threat of pollution, the artists do not depict just gloom and doom. The environmental consciousness conveyed in the artworks is not one of despair but of hope and renewal.
“Indonesia and India share a profound cultural connection that dates back to around two thousand years, primarily initiated by trade and migration,” Krish Datta explains.
Couple by A G Nellagi
“The spread of the reign of Indian kings followed by the maritime trade routes facilitated the exchange of goods, ideas, architecture and cultural practices between India and Indonesia,” he observes.
Indian traders and merchants, along with Buddhist and Hindu missionaries, traveled to the Indonesian archipelago. They brought with them religious texts, art, and iconography that have had wide cultural influence.
The exhibition in Jakarta presents new facets of the visual language of art. Such visual languages describe human evolution and relations between society and habitat.
Some of these depictions are cross-cultural and cut across boundaries and barriers. Others have authentic flavours that are true to their roots.
The exhibition aimed at exploring renewal at five levels: individual, society, environment, art, and technology. Environmental renewal is needed to emphasise sustainability and preservation, while technology can help introduce new experiences in art perception and aesthetics.
Now what have you done today to pause in your busy schedule and harness your creative side for a better world?
The Golden Deer by Venugopal V.G.
Bull in Space by Saumya Bandyopadhyay
My Family #3 by A G Nellagi
URBAN NATURE by Abhijit Paul
(All photographs courtesy Mayinart.)
