Think of the fantasy of Chagall, the poetry of Tagore and the myths of the Indian idiom; Jayasri Burman’s “Fables and Folklore” opens at Jehangir in Mumbai today, and between sculptures and paintings, this is the study of the choreography of mythic moods and lush tropicana. Living much of her adult life in Shantiniketan while her peers were preoccupied with depicting everyday scenes from modern life, Jayasri was interested in domestic subjects such as the tender moments between mother and child or views that translated tales of Tagore and great Bengali authors. Now synonymous with the artist, these touching scenes have taken their place within the Indianesque canon.
A skilled and versatile printmaker, Jayasri was the winner of the Lalit Kala Award years ago. As such, the appearance of any colour in these paintings is a magnificent portrayal of a woman or many others caressed in the firmament of nature’s dulcet dualities. Lotuses become a part of the crown as well as the tresses, the drape of a brocade-like sari becomes the sinuous head of more than a mere swan or a duck. Epic in proportion and perspective are Agomani and Ram Lila. Here we see Jayasri’s skillful technique and lightness of touch combined with the pattern and flattened perspective associated with Japanese woodblock prints, a known source of inspiration to Jayasri.
The damsel in Shyamolini is the breed of a princess in poignant moods. There is also a coolly distant and achingly confessional tone about this work, which is still extremely sophisticated. The young woman has many questions and her drama of life unfolds within her persona. The emerald green used for the first time becomes a cohesive quest in the moods of a fertile ferment. In these mute and softened works with a peacock and other birds, you discern a haunting tenderness amidst rich imagery. She excels is the interplay of language and the technique of restructuring.
Jayasri works in two sets of tonalities 1 the warm, torrid shades of blues and oranges and yellows as well as a contrast of earth tones that are mute, sombre and soft. The irresistible flavour of double entendre makes the whole complement of contour a kind of sonata.
Perhaps Agomani is the piece de resistance of the show that comes after a span of many years in Mumbai. The first question that comes to one’s mind is how Jayasri is able to imbue her work with so many elements and such varied richness of intent. The details must be worked upon for hours if not days. What is it that compels? “Feelings,” she says emphatically and softly, “they are the most important part of my life,” adding that “it is the arousal of feelings between people, between man and woman, between women and nature, between animals, even between birds that gives me the desire to express the reaction of a certain pull of forces.” So, you see, influences, objects and people who play with one another, there is in that chemistry a certain combustion, a chemistry that abides in the whole scheme of things.
Jayasri studied at Shantiniketan and later went to Paris and studied under Monseuir Ceizerzi - the fact that she was a printmaker supplements her deftness with detail. Often in her compositions, you see the simple but reiterative patterns of quivering familiarity that deals with lush, tropical environs. The elements of the phantasmagorical garden move instinctively and ingenuously in a way that a mural would. The whole frame seems open up and invite you to partake of it. However, she is equally at ease in shifting the focus of her works. Sometimes, you feel that there is an emotional strain that hovers unsteadily in mid-air, there is a sound of deepened sadness that could be both exulting and locked in despair, but contrasts are inevitable in life and that is her signature.
Jayasri always returns to nature in all her moorings. The sculptures are a departure and a new tenor in the medium of the heavy material that has qualities of density. The little Ganesha is the icon of a period. It seems as if the role of myth is an intellectual idea that is presented to the eye through the mind, as if in her quest for exploring nuances she wants also to reveal an inner state of subjective emotion. Emotion then becomes an attractive force of absorption that captures movement and rhythm. It may, however, be valuable to point out that her construct is within a scale of romanticism and a triumphant quality of expressionism. For Jayasri, the act of creating becomes an intimate and decisive act, so that the figurative images in the 4 sculptures tell the story. For her, the sculptures are the most contemplative revelations of her impulses. If in the past few years, the colours in her paintings have changed into a celebration-in the sculptures, her impulses are more varied, and the expression of her oeuvre is the magic of contemporary manifestation.