Water – The Thread of Life

Group Exhibition of Contemporary Artists

Alphonso Arul Doss, Asma Menon, Jayakumar G, S Jayaraj, JMS Mani, Rekha Rao & Shailesh B.O.

21^st – 30^th March 2012

Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore

This special Art Exhibition titled – “Water – The Thread of Life”, was organised by Arghyam to commemorate the World Water Day between 21st - 30th March 2012 at Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath. The show was inaugurated by Ms. Rohini Nilekani, Chairperson, Arghyam. Every year, 22^nd March is observed as World Water Day across the globe to remind the inhabitants of the earth of their responsibilities to protect, save and conserve this precious natural resource.

This exhibition was a special curated show and was relevant for the reason that seven contemporary Indian visual artists from Bangalore and Chennai  reacted to socio-political issue of water, its relevance and the risk inherent within the inevitability of nurturing cultivated water. The participating artists were Dr. Alphonso Arul Doss, Ms. Asma Menon, Mr. JMS Mani, Ms. Rekha Rao, Mr. S Jayaraj, Mr. Jayakumar G & Mr. Shailesh B.O. These artists are already known personalities in the field of visual arts not only for the art they have created but also due to the various sub-categories of art they have come to define—art pedagogy, art movements, criticism and the like. More than artists, they carry the mantle of being the eligible personalities for an art movement. This is exactly what they had done through this show. They  responded to the issue of water in a way that is specific to visual arts. They connected water to gender issues, separated the problems of water between urban and rural situation, made a visual-story of the omnipresence and inevitability of water, connected cultivated and cultured water to pictorial language and have differentiated it from the untamed water, among other aspects.

Please click here to see the press review in The Hindu newspaper.

Group Exhibition - Lives and Livelihoods of Fisherfolk
Alphonso Arul Doss, Asma Menon, S Jayaraj, Manohar Natarajan, V Ravindran, BO Shailesh 
Labernum and Indigo Gallery, Cholamandal Artists’ Village, Chennai
16 – 23 October 2011

Food supplies are sourced from all food production sectors to meet the growing demands of the exploding population in India and one such promising area is fisheries. Every year, 16th October is celebrated as the World Food Day and it reminds us of our obligations to provide food for the billions that inhabit the earth. The aim of the Day is to heighten public awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.
With this aim, Bay of Bengal Programme Inter-Governmental Organisation (BOBP-IGO), Chennai has organized an Art Exhibition where Eminent artists of Chennai have exhibited their works inspired by the sea and the people associated with it.


Artists Alphonso Arul Doss, Asma Menon, S Jayaraj, N Manohar, V Ravindran and BO Shailesh have exhibited their paintings and sculptures on the theme. Using different media, these artists have painted the lives and livelihoods of fisherfolk and their environment. 


This exhibition is a tribute to the brave fishers who toil against all odds to harvest nutritious fish food from the oceans.

The exhibition will continue till 23 October 2011.