How Political Is The Normal?

Mahesh Baliga’s paintings challenge frameworks that govern the way we perceive everyday occurrences
Pooja Savansukha, The HIndu, February 28, 2020
‘It’s a normal day…’ Mahesh Baliga’s fifth solo exhibition at Project 88 features the artist’s works that showcase his unrelenting concern with everyday happenings. Baliga uses matter-of-fact, playful, and semi-satirical imagery to divulge dissonances within regular days that have been overlooked or ignored, while making a strong case for the relevance of painterly practices. Entering the gallery, one is taken by the impressive display of evenly-sized, small-scale paintings that are exhibited cinematically across two walls of the space and juxtaposed against larger paintings by the Vadodara-based artist. The viewer is compelled to pay attention to the conversation between these works that highlight “Details that have been missed from the day-to-day framing of images of importance — of violence, pain, loss, and love.” Mythological subjects, intimate indoor scenes, depictions of nature, the built environment, and references to Baliga’s artistic identity are brought to the forefront. The artist invites considerations of his painterly medium, the construction of narratives, and idea of normalcy.
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