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For the last thirty five years drawing has been an important means of expression in Dilip Ranade’s practice besides painting and sculpture. Initially it was to try out compositional possibilities for a painting and also to explore potent images and forms. However since 1976 drawing has become an autonomous form of expression for him.

The intention behind constantly pursuing this medium is to capture and respond to subtle oscillations of feelings and fleeting experiences of the world around, thus widening the scope of imagery as well as boundaries of expression. Ranade relies on idiosyncrasies more than on any conventional pictorial devices and themes.

In his earlier works influence of Surrealist artist like Max Ernst and Rene Magritte can be seen. Besides this, the experimental theatre in Mumbai of the 70’s, the “Theatre of the Absurd”, and enigmatic aspects of works of existentialist authors like Franz Kafka and Albert Camus and Marathi authors like C.T. Khanolkar and G. A. Kulkarni complimented his art practice.  His interest in theatre, cinema and literature; has also helped to feed his very individual imagery.

The imagery in Ranade’s drawings reveals multiple facets of his thinking; his interest in thought provoking riddles, his curiosity about scientific theories; a probing imagination and an unsettling vision. In addition to this, the various techniques the artist practised in his work at the museum, such as taxidermy, diorama making, restoration, moulding - casting, have crept into his imagery. Ranade worked with the Natural History Department in the Museum (CSMVS) for several years, where he not only had to study animal behaviour to design dioramas, but also had an opportunity to do taxidermy of some birds and mammals. This encounter with the animal world has been insightful and also stimulating.

One encounters undercurrent of eerie and surreal atmosphere in his works or at times, a satirical twist to a simple everyday incident. As the objects are set into different contextual environment they lose their every-day significance and attain different connotations. Although the images are explicit, the content is ambiguous and abstract.

While viewing Ranade’s works one feels as if one is entering into a fantasy world. In some of his works there is depiction of a tableau or portrayal of relationship between animal and man as found in stories of Aesop and Panchatantra, hovering on the verge of real and unreal. The multiple beings and objects dwelling in an enclosed space or at times in boundless space are seen to have mutual relationships which may be cordial or hostile, stable or unstable, ethereal or physical. These complex associations defy logic and rationality.

In Ranade’s drawings, we find, dogs, cats, rabbits, fish and other animals and birds engaged in some activity, convoluted, dismembered and entangled with each other. The internal organs and dismembered body parts of humans and animals, dilapidated statues in the public squares, fallen heads, tall and tapering towers, columns, domes, swords, old and new weapons, household wardrobes, pipes, clocks, water tanks, laboratory equipment, moulds and casts of objects, monks, men in suits, helmet wearing warriors etc. are also included in his repertoire of images.  

Ranade’s range and diversity of drawings is significant and striking.  In some of the themes human and animal are linked in a strange and intriguing way. On one hand, the dormant animal propensity deep in human subconscious and on the other, animals portrayed with human expressions and gestures frequently appear in the works. Along with this, instinctual forces of sexuality, cruelty, greed, strong desire, which are suppressed due to social decorum, are implicit in his works.

Because of apparent familiarity of the imagery the spectator can easily associate with the images. However disparity and absence of correlation among the images gives him inkling that the world he has stepped into is fictitious and strange indeed.  Imagine an old man dragging a long pipe like intestine, gazing at the trophies of rhinoceros in suspension, or the image of the tongue, the extremely sensitive and delicate part of our body seen as a physical object. This object-hood of the tongue, extracted and disengaged from body gives it a bizarre look and shocks the viewer.

A theatrical satire is created in a painting by placing five different characters on a wall in a chain of action. An European, an Indian, a football player, a wrestler and a cavalier of medieval period are shown assaulting one another. It is a metaphorical / allegorical tableau pointing to the primordial instinctive desire in a man to dominate others.

The affinity with and understanding of the behavioural traits of animals developed as a result of his work at the Natural History Museum,  and also lingering memories of childhood stories from Panchatantra are reflected in some playful works. An old woman, for example, is shown striding over a tiger and a wolf. We also see traditional Indian iconography transposed to the contemporary times, with human figures shown with multiple limbs. The symbolism of tradition seems re-imagined and lightened with a touch of absurdity.

What exactly is the content of these drawings and watercolours by Dilip Ranade? It is not easy to pin it down exactly. It seems that the artist wishes to highlight the disparities experienced in life, evoking latent feelings and a sense of absurdity.  By its very nature, the content is ambiguous and abstract. In a practical world seeking certainty and surety, this is a welcome destabilizing.

Madhav Imaratey
2016


 

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