For lawyer-turned-artist Bahaar Dhawan Rohatgi, interest in the interstellar and cosmos led her to a fascinating discovery—that owls can create a cosmic connection. On digging deep, she realised there are several superstitions associated with the bird that even result in their death.
Her ongoing exhibition titled The Night celebrates these nocturnal birds. It is taking place at Apparao Gallery, The Lodhi Hotel in New Delhi. The exhibition, she says, is her way of telling people not to harm owls who are clueless about the varied cultures and mythology.
“In some countries, an owl is considered as a good creature, while in others, it is considered to bring bad omen. For example, Greece has owl trophies because it is considered as an eye of wisdom and in India, it is treated as the vehicle of goddess Lakshmi. However, during demonetisation, some people in North India started capturing them in their homes and slaughtered them in hope that goddess Lakshmi will get pleased. This troubled me a lot,” she says.
Rohatgi has gone beyond the usual style of using only acrylic colours and used incorporated a variety of materials to highlight the bird. “I wanted my imagination to run wild. There's a lot of metallic work that you will see in these pieces. The metallic works are showcased using a lot of mix media including scrap metal, laser cut metal, rubber, resin, fibre glass as well as adhesives,” she says.
Taking forward her work for effective and innovative waste-management, the self-trained artist has also used a lot of objects. Tree bark, hay, hand-cut papers and cement have been cleverly put together to add detailing as well as breathe in life into her works.
“You can see many objects that are not necessarily considered of any use to people. I have used all such objects. For example, the bark of tree can be seen in some pieces. These barks were preserved by me. Since I am a chemical geek, I have also used resin and reduced rubber. These have been imported from Gujarat and then reduced in my studio.”
To give a realistic twist, three dimensional effect has also been added to some of the pieces. “This exhibition is a culmination of my journeys and how the bird has been a dominant feature. I try to be very diverse and like being open minded. I have used different elements to showcase that owl is the shining star in all pieces.”
The artist, who has given owls a different look in each of the artworks, created these pieces over a period of three months after much research.
