For an artist, the act of cre-ation stems from an in-

built desire to physicallymanifest their thoughts,ideas and feelings. And whenold work serves as a canvasfor new creations, you’reprivy to your own process ofevolution. In her ongoingshow titled Canticle, artistBoshudhara Mukherjee’s ex-periments with mixed mediafrom previous paintings andnew to create 12 wovencanvases. Using acrylic, oil,paper, cloth, plastic and tape,Mukherjee follows the pat-tern of paint, cut, and weaveto make and remake unex-pected forms. Even thoughthe word ‘canticle’, is relatedto hymns from the Bible,Mukherjee chooses to see itfor its metre-less character-istics rather than place it in areligious context. The showhas been dubbed so by theartist’s father in reference tothe non-rhythmic butrepetitive lines and theresonance he sees in the Bib-lical verse and Mukherjee’swork.

Closing spaces

Since 2013, Mukherjee hasattempted to merge the gapbetween art and craft. Theartist draws inspiration fromthe delicate lines of aminiature painting, abstractexpressionism, geometricpatterns of neo-plasticism,repetitive patterns of archi-tectural screens, as well asher grandmother’s saris. Inthe end, Mukherjee recyclesher works to bring forthfresh connotations that per-tain to her current mood.“The story that my work tellsis not something I intention-ally put there, but somethingthat slipped out of my heartand mind, through my fin-gers and into the work un-consciously,” she says.

As a child, she always hadto keep her hands busy,whether it was in the form ofbatik painting, crochet,stitching or even by takingthe toaster or printer apartand putting it back together.And even though she studiedpainting at the MaharajaSayajirao University in Bar-oda, Mukherjee’s tryst withthe practice hasn’t been aseasy as it has with her craft.“Painting and I have a di�-cult relationship, and I thinkthe work is born out of thatconflict and a need to controlthe medium,” she says.

An emotional connect

In the gallery whereCanticle is on display,Mukherjee’s work is brim-ming with intricate patternsand shapes. The surround-ing lit installations onlyserve to accentuate thedrama and personality of thecanvases. Each piece of artexudes a di�erent mood:some mellow, some dark,and others vibrant. The workhas taken the artist three-four months to complete,and there’s an array of emo-tions, moods, and storiesbuilt into every one.

For instance, the piece

‘Feb’ is cold, but pleasantnonetheless, a throwback tothe location it was created in:Mukherjee’s home in Kur-seong, Darjeeling, during acold but sunny winter. “Feb-ruary is an interestingmonth. It starts o� bare, butas it progresses you see theleaves and flowers start tobud, and by the beginning of

March, they all start tobloom. While painting, Iwasn’t consciously thinkingabout all these aspects, butwhen I look at the work now,it has a sense of coldnessabout it.”

Choose their own way

While some pieces arelarge and cover an entire

wall, others are fairly smallerwith edgier shapes. The art-ist explains that it’s some-thing that comes instinct-ively as she chops andnegates sections of the can-vas. She says, “Like in thecase of ‘Loss’, which startedo� as really huge, about threetimes the length it is now, butended up tiny. I guess each

work is the size that itchooses to be.”

Mukherjee’s interactionwith each canvas involvedthe use of her entire body, asthe process of creationmeant literally sitting on thework or standing on a ladderfor hours, days and months.She believes that her installa-tions don’t require a stand-ard signature, since it con-tains a biometric one. “It isquite literally blood, sweat,and tears, with all the blistersand calluses each work givesme.” Several of the paintingsand weaves are born frommuscle memory and theright breathing pattern. Shebelieves that while the braintakes certain decisions, it’sthe hands and body that con-trol the rhythm. “It’s almostlike yoga or meditation, yourbody and mind need to be insync for every single line.”

The process of creation,taking apart the canvas tofree it from its claustropho-bia, is something that in-spires Mukherjee to paint.Another aspect that urgesher to create is boredom.“Unless one gets tired of do-ing something, why wouldyou want to do anything dif-ferent?” So after makingmore than a thousandstraight lines, the need to cuta curve suddenly overtakesthe artist and “voilà! a newdoor of possibilities opensup”.

Like any other creativemind, the artist views all herwork as her children. Theonly di�erence, she believesis that just because youcreated them, doesn’t meanyou can completely predictwho they will grow up to be.

The author is a freelancewriter

Canticle is on at Tarq,Colaba, till November 26

Artist Boshudhara Mukherjee’s fourth solo show is testament to how old work can inspire and even become part of new art

A constantly evolving canvasZAHRA AMIRUDDIN

Taking apart thecanvas to free it fromits claustrophobiais something thatinspires Mukherjee

TELLING STORIES: Boshudhara Mukherjee’s works are brimming with intricate patterns andshapes, and there’s an array of moods built into every one. — PHOTOS: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT