Cityscapes fascinate him. And in the past decade Gigi Scaria has carved a niche for himself in expressing the realities of urban life in its various constructs. Not limiting himself to painting, in which he has an MFA degree from Jamia Millia University, Delhi, his oeuvre has seen a prolific and wide ranging output in sculpture, installations, video clippings or photography. ?
Scaria?s artistic impressions have always tried to present a world we all live and love, but fail to notice. His latest solo photography exhibition, Triviality of Everyday Life, on at the Palette Art Gallery in Delhi till September 6, is just another such rendezvous, where his love for art as a form of expression fixes a date with what one is missing on in life, re-looking at the random phone call on the cellphone or crossing the road or that roadside beggar on one?s last turn to the office.
The artist?s focus ? his love for cityscapes and people living there, is resonant in most works as evident in his earlier painting exhibitions, Migrant I Worker, The City of Forking Paths, From Kothanalloor to Nai Dilli and Site Under Construction. This photography exhibition brings alive Korea, its people and culture, highlighting the similarities and differences the place has with the other countries.
?Through photography one can reflect the architecture and people, who stay in the man-made buildings, with a touch of realism,? believes Scaria. With clarity and depth, the photographs arrest the movement of the people and their movement both in society and the workspace. The static pictures are posed photographs and a random selection from the everyday life in the city. On the walls is an interesting mix of the city?s architecture, culture, people, and modern-day life style.
Scaria selected Seoul, an important technology hub, giving us a detailed account of the city ? past and present. Scaria?s photo-account is grouped in three categories. ?The first section, Triviality of Everyday existence, a body of works mainly photographs and video, is an attempt to engage myself with the endless signs in a single movement,? he says. He captures the interplay of technology and the boredom of everyday life. There are several photographs that he has clicked of people engaged with their mobile phones.
The second set of photographs comes from a photojournalistic angle that explores the ?mild clash? between an existing social order and a forgotten cultural past. The third work is of video clippings that bring forth the long-drawn controversy over the divide between North and South Korea.