Page 23 - Jehangir Sabavala - TheArtsTrust

Clockwise from top: With
Shirin at home in 2002,
photographed by the iconic
Dayanita Singh; with the
then-acting Vice President
B D Jatti, receiving the
Padma Shri in 1977; an
article in a leading daily

The skies themselves featured to execute during his formal training days.
gradation that lent a serenity to Now, these figures were more spirits than solid
the works. creatures. As the early 1970s approached, these
The iconic pilgrims also made figures became more wraith-esque, shrouded
their appearance, showcasing both and took on the colours of their environment.
the despair of having no home The ‘Wanderers of the Middle Mist’ was one
and the hope of finding a new one, of the first to depict the three spectres, and
walking into the horizon with their reflects many a loss in his family including
backs to the viewers. These would that of his mother and his in-laws. These
be a precursor to the mystical beings figures signify a lost tribe that Sabavala
that would inhabit Sabavala’s lands. personally associated with. Much like the
The theme of moksha and the pursuit Parsis’ Persian ancestors, the figures too are
of enlightenment and salvation became diasporic, looking for a Utopia or a return to
increasingly prominent, mirroring the their lost Paradise.
artist’s own pursuit of knowledge and The early 1970s also saw the
his retreat into his own inner world. treatment of the landscape as a body,
Traversing their way through umpteen featuring vein-heavy lines that lined the
landscapes of barren land, waterfalls sprawling earth, sky and water. Arid
and summits, the pilgrims attempt their deserts, cliff-lined seas and other bleak
journey to the heavens. These scenes hold yet magical terra featured, and the
drama and stillness, precipitating what spatial depth of these landscapes was
would become a signature style. The late informed by zigzagging lines that would
1960s also showcased seemingly biblical become a mainstay in Sabavala’s later
landscapes, bleak in their setting, with artistic career. The curves and peaks
the figures taking on more prophet-esque accentuated the receding horizons
forms. Mirages reared their heads and made that decorated his artwork, as did his
their presence known, making the journey play on light. This careful placement
more treacherous. of light—which highlighted peaks,
Sabavala’s penchant for series of works figures and made the darkness in
that explored a certain theme till the variations the distance more prominent—
were exhausted can also be seen at its peak played an important role in these
during this time. Exploring the diaspora works. It helped convey the poetry
rigorously, he concocted various settings like that pervaded most of the artist’s
that of an endless spiralling staircase, a narrow landscapes, translating both the
road cutting through peaks or a dust storm. fragility of life as well as the
These phantoms were a direct contrast to the endurance of it. ‘The Hooded Day’
well-defined forms that Sabavala had learned from 1970 showcases all of these

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