Artistic adventures

Titled "Geographys, Mostly Charcoals,” Shernavaz Colah’s solo exhibition at Gallery Art and Soul in Bombay, on display from May 28 to June 30, 2011, showcases 60 works created over a period of five years. The drawings in this series include two large works which are approximately 11 ft by 5 ft, notes a write-up sent to Parsiana by Colah’s daughter Zasha, herself an upcoming art curator.

"Part experimentation and part travelog investigating nature, topography and the human body,” the artist has used a technique developed through "momentary frisson of dragging wedges and shapes of charcoal over textured white spaces,” notes the write-up. Colah’s experimentation centers round vegetation, rocky outcrops and the human body. Images captured from her weekly walks in the hills, aerial views from airplanes over the Australian desert, the sheer drop into the sea from the Isle of Man and interesting tree forms remain in her mind until they find release on paper, the write-up elucidates.

Shernavaz Colah (left) with two of her charcoal works

Colah, who learnt oil painting from her parents, has experimented with many media. Three decades ago she started with the use of boot polish and a spare piece of plywood which she found at home! Adventurous with her art, when lacking in art supplies she has used wire mesh and broken glass panes to create inter-layers. In the current series the rock edges of Khandala have been recreated using the red laterite soil of the Western Ghats and subtle tones of grey have been conjured from crushed stones to depict contours of a human body. The misty view of valleys from Mahaba­leshwar are evoked using gesso (the white base used beneath acrylic paintings) over the charcoal to create a subtle opaqueness.

A large monograph researched and written by Colah on prominent Sri Lankan artist Justin Daraniyagala from the ’43 group who exhibited in Europe, England and America during his lifetime will be released shortly. Colah, who has had a long career with the Tata Group in communications and sustainability, has also edited a series of books on community initiatives in sustainable development and the environment, the write-up notes.