Where the exception is the rule!
–by Ashoke Viswanathan
–Reading Time 10 min Approx
The art and aesthetics of Papia Ghoshal, the feisty creator of canvasses that go beyond mere prettification, deserve a detailed analysis. Her paintings have an eclectic quality, particularly in terms of form, combining mythological motifs with folk forms and rustic landscapes. She is deliberately experimental in her approach, exhibiting an indigenous approach that becomes universal purely because it is so rooted to an Indian milieu.
Since Ms. Ghoshal is additionally a stage performer, adroit in subtly conveying histrionic as well as musical ability in stage presentations as also in cinematic exhibitions, her brush strokes beautifully demonstrate pictorial drama.
There is a lyrical ferocity in some of her paintings; subterranean sensuality is a recurrent theme in many of her creations. The inescapable attraction and consequent sublimation of sexual desire, as epitomized by the “discourse of the body” that summarizes an important aspect of Baul philosophy.
There is poetry, too, in the artworks: Papia is a published poet and her literary pursuits, too, deserve mention. That apart, the paintings display a kind of visual poetry that is, at once, abstract and palpable. One may not always agree with the weltanschauung or even be moved by some of the images, but this is a style that cannot be ignored or regarded with any degree of insouciance.
Among her recent exhibitions, FORBIDDEN DREAMS in Prague demonstrate an Indo-Bohemian style of art that borders on the rhapsodic. Her experiences during her decade long stay in Czech Republic have equipped her, technically and philosophically, to convey images that are often mystifyingly attractive.
The painting, THE GODDESS OF WAR AGAINST WAR is a complex image that complicates the general view of war as something deplorable. This artist cannot be ignored by any means. On the contrary, the work of Papia Ghoshal, a multi-media personality is indubitably a contribution to postmodern art in an increasingly indifferent world.
It is important to mention the fact that Papia’s poetry, too, has a unique flavour. Writing primarily in Bangla (and sometimes in English), she is able to bring to the fore, the uncanny, the unnoticed and the bizarre. There is a great deal of personal experience in her verse, and I am tempted to paraphrase what the redoubtable Professor P. Lal had said about the quality of poetry.
According to the great Indo Anglian poet, poetry needs to have music, a milieu and metaphor. By music, he was referring to a musical quality, not necessarily prosodic; although, he rated the prosodic verse of Byron and Keats very highly.
The second quality, so essential for meaningful verse is the milieu. The poem needs to be located in a specific environment and this is where Papia scores highly in her poetry. As in her paintings, the verses are always located in a specific cultural zone and by doing this she seeks to subvert the traditional narrative that depends on the age-old binary of ‘centre and periphery ‘. Her verse, while being acutely personal, is intensely aware of the surrounding milieu and, indeed, of the zeitgeist.
The third aspect of mature verse, as per the renowned professor of literature, is metaphor; and this is where a whole host of clichés abound. Heavy handed symbolism is not what Ms. Ghoshal revels in; rather, her poetry and, more, her paintings have a subterranean hermeneutic attribute that conceals more than it reveals while expressing meaning in an understated manner. This is true of her poetry too.
Papia’s lifestyle is that of the Baul, a travelling minstrel in a rapidly changing world where advertisement and self-propaganda seem to be the order of the day. She uses her experiences of exhilaration and despondency to fuel her designs. The ravages of the pandemic and its festering aftermath have found expression in her works in the eclectic style that has become her trademark.
The solitude and silence of these past two years, the frightening possibilities of complete annihilation that the ongoing war in Ukraine brings with it, the consequent insouciance of her peers and ‘friends’, the abrupt demise of her near and dear have created a phantasmagoria of colours and images in her mind.
This fertile brain has given rise to a plethora of artworks that are often provocative, contradictory, and atypical. It is the subtle contradictions in her form and content that make us sit up and take notice. Her political discourse is complex, and she actively complicates this further by presenting images that are often superimpositions of mythology and metaphor.
In conclusion, one can aver, with some conviction that Papia Ghoshal is an important artist, capable of both mystifying the viewer as well as bewitching the connoisseur with her craft. She is a sensitive artist, possessed of a strong political will tempered and honed by her myriad experiences of travel in war torn Syria and its environs. Her forays in the field of theatre and cinema have sensitized her so much that she steers clear of generalizations and facile logic.
She has been in the company of magnificent artists and singers from Bengal and has been enriched and influenced by these experiences. Her paintings clearly demonstrate that it has not been roses all the way. She has had her share of disappointments and even betrayals and these have been reflected in her work. The transient nature of relationships and, indeed, love is a recurrent motif albeit very subtly articulated.
Her understanding of the instinctual and even corporeal nature of desire and distaste is significant in today’s postmodern universe where a propensity to do away with the niceties of Middle-class life has given way to a more direct, ‘ in the face’ attitude. It is important to recognize that not every artwork is universally liked or applauded but that, on occasion, a painting emerges that is full of beauty, often frighteningly so and profound in its subterranean thought; so much so that we are often swept off our feet.
This is the case with the art of Papia Ghoshal, an artistic creator with a penchant for picking up the unusual and the bizarre. It is this propensity for venturing into the realms of the unknown that has led this remarkable artist to an area of resonant creativity, thus luring the curious viewer into a world of electric shadows and translucent droplets of miraculous magic.
Viswanathan, a postgraduate from the FILM AND TELEVISION INSTITUTE OF INDIA (PUNE) is a reviewer in several mainstream journals in India, writing on art, theatre, and cinema. He is a National and International award-winning film director, author, and screenwriter.
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