While growing up in the late 90s and early 2000s, it was a luxury to have a computer, but thankfully, my household was blessed with one. And on it, I have spent countless hours playing this one particular game, Age of Mythology, which I recall with fond nostalgia each time someone brings it up in a conversation or I think about it. It was my gateway drug to the wonderful world of Greek, Egyptian, and Norse Mythology. After a whole evening of harnessing Zeus’s powerful light bolts to smite my enemies or praying to Hades to send his shades from the Underworld to kill my opponents, I would enter another world that fed my imagination. Those were the stories of Indian mythology narrated by my grandmother in her tranquil voice to lull me to sleep but I would inevitably stay up until each story ended. I loved hearing about fantastical creatures like the bird-god Garuda and the various forms of Goddess Parvati, which ranged from the most devoted wife and mother to the feared violent vanquisher of evil.
Soon, I realized that mythologies, no matter which part of the world they are generated from, are tied together by a universal thread of imagination. The Greek god king Zeus is not very different from our king of the gods, Indra, or the Roman god, Jupiter. Similarly, the description of Garuda has so many similarities with the griffin, a mythological creature, that originates in Mesopotamian mythology. These were the thoughts swirling around my head when I heard about the exhibition, 'Amano Iwato'. Organized by the renowned Mumbai art gallery, APRE Art House, the exhibition builds on the idea of the collective imagination at the source of global myth-making while focusing on the similarities in Japanese and Indian mythology.
Amano Iwato dives into the complex relationship between human societies and the natural world. Inspired by the Japanese story of Amaterasu, the Sun Goddess, artists explore how cultures have conceptualized and interacted with nature throughout history. It then parallels the Indian tale of Surya Dev, the sun god, and showcases the interdependence of historical and cultural contexts between these two great nations. Expect a diverse range of artwork — paintings with watercolor, ink, acrylic, pigments, sculptures in bronze and also photographs by talented Indian artists that include Seema Kohli, Paula Sengupta, Shantamani Muddaiah, Arunkumar H.G, Heeral Trivedi, Poushali Das, Ruchika Wason Singh, Raihan Vadra, Ekta Singha, Pavan Kavitkar, Sarban Chowdhury, Shaji Appukttan, Sukanya Ayde and Noni-Mouse.
Amano Iwato isn't just about the past. By revisiting these myths, the exhibition encourages a critical look at how we view the present environment. Are we simply bystanders in the ecological drama, or do we have a role to play? This thought-provoking show doesn't offer easy answers, but it pushes us to re-evaluate the stories we tell ourselves about nature and our place within it, through the lens of mythology.
The exhibition opens on the 8th of June, 2024.
Venue: APRE Art House
Address: Plot no. 28, Sanghvi House, 3rd Pasta Lane, Market, Colaba, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400005
Folllow APRE Art House here.
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