Ng. Bidyut Singha 

LANDSCAPES FROM MEMORY  

The Guild Art Gallery is pleased to present Ng. Bidyut Singha’s solo show, 'Landscapes from Memory.' Born in 1974, Shillong, Bidyut Singha studied at St.Anthony’s College in Shillong. He obtained a BFA in painting from Sir JJ. School of Arts , Mumbai in 2001.

The minimal and almost zen-like quality of Ng.Bidyut Singha’s art-works belie his artistic concerns which are from the shifting political scenario around himself, extending from the regional to a national and global level. They hint not only to the unrest in the north-east but also to the condition of the farmers in India.  

The Lotus as a motif appears in his meticulously executed paper-cuts. Bidyut’s ancestors, the Ngangam were fishermen who originated near the Loktak lake in Manipur which brims with lotuses and islands. The lotus thus becomes a symbol for him of his community, a bridge to his ancient roots. It is a living practice of the Manipuri people to cut white cloth and to use them to make flags which are then hung during festivals. Borrowing from this tradition, replacing white cloth with white paper he articulates his own memories and personal experiences.

Bidyut is also intrigued by postcards in the way they depict only what is beautiful, what we call, ‘scenic beauty’. The mundane reality remains untold, concealed. These paper-cuts act as a window to the red-reality which has a dual meaning, the red symbolic of the vitality and quiet strength of the hill-people and in complete contrast, it is also symbolic of failed socialist ideals.

Coming from a family of Cartographers, (his father worked for the ‘Survey of India’,) forms the basis for his installation of paper tubes, where we see an elevation of a landscape. He says, 

“I wanted to create a memory of the hills I’ve left behind.”

“Making these art-works allows me to create a parallel reality, to construct a sensibility other than the one which prevails. I want people to experience some serenity when they walk into this Utopia of Lotuses and abstract landscapes.”  

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Ng.Bidyut Singha’s shows include: 2008, a group show by The Bombay Art Gallery at Jehangir Nicholson art Gallery, N.C.P.A. He was one of the first participants of the Peers Project conducted by Khoj in Delhi in 2003. His solo shows  include  'Blues'  at Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Mumbai in 2007;  'Breathe'  at The East India Company Art Gallery by Chatterjee & Lal,  Mumbai.