A Conversation with Mediums

A retrospective of artist Jyoti Bhatt provides a rare glimpse into his practice as painter, printmaker and photographer, and his philosophy

- DEEPALI DHINGRA

Growing up in Bhavnagar during the 1940s, Jyoti Bhatt developed a fascination with birds. "As I tried to describe them to friends, I found language insufficient; instead, I turned instinctively to drawing. Observing the curve of a beak or the spread of a tail, I began to sketch what words could not capture," he says. Recognising this interest, his teacher encouraged him to join a special art class, setting him on the path towards a life in art.

The now 91-year-old Baroda-based artist dons many hats-painter, printmaker and photographer. And at his latest retrospective titled Through the Lines and the Lens, the oeuvre spanning his seven decades of creativity is there for one to see. Presented by Bhavna Kakar and curated by Rekha Roddwittiya, the exhibition features a rich array of etchings, lithographs, serigraphs, photographs, and personal writings. "He belongs to the pantheon of artists who have truly contributed to a historical premise of contemporary Indian art, and who have defined certain early premises, and created areas where theoretical discourses could also be framed from their art practice," says Roddwittiya.