Diwan Manna:Work of a major Indian artist finally emerging in Britain
Reflections - UK
08/04/1996 , By Shanaz Gulzar
Diwan Manna
WORK OF A MAJOR INDIAN ARTIST FINALLY EMERGING IN BRITAIN
I first came across Diwan Manna’s images on a postcard. Having no previous knowledge of his work my first reaction was admiration and interest. By Shanaz Gulzar
As a photographer my initial appraisal was of his teachinique and style, as an artist it was to look at the treatment of his subject.
Diwan manna is considered a major artist in India and has exhibited widely in his home country, but in Britain he has exhibited only once in Wolverhampton.
Diwan Manna is India trained and is a graduate of the Chandigarh College of Arts. He was also the recipient of the all India Photography Award in 1995, and received the prestigious National Academy Award in Photography in 1996; as this award can only be presented once in an artist’s lifetime; this reflects the position that Diwan Manna hold in India.
The exhibition, to be held at the Art Gallery at Dewsbury Museum, is of the current photographic works, starting from 10 August until 22 September 1996. The majority of Diwan Manna’s work is based around women, their experiences and lives. As Helen Robinson, the curator of the show says. “During politically tense periods a woman becomes a hidden sufferer, and it is these experiences that Diwan Manna is attempting to portray.”
He treats his subject with a sensitivity that is rarely seen. Also rarely has a man attempted to uncover the real experiences of women. There is a gentleness and humane attitude towards his subject matter that is wonderful to see. Often the turmoil and tensity of these women is portrayed in hard and grainy documentary photographs that give a message of despair and distress. But as is always the case, there is a hidden dimension that rarely emerges.
Diwan Manna has portrayed his subject within a frame of colour that forms both positive and negative concepts of these hidden victims. These are intensely colourful, painterly and magical images. They have a quietness that belies the tenseness of the current political situation in India, which forms the basis of his works. Diwan Manna attempts to show the different layers of humanity that is often unveiled in moments of extremity.
Currently, Helen tells me, he is busy producing new and exciting works for the exhibition, which is proving a little difficult, due to minor technical difficulties; such as a shortage of the specialist paper he works with.
Helen feels that the impact of the exhibition will be a positive one, but considering the nature of the Asian community in Dewsbury, she also thought it prudent to research in-depth into the background and history of the politics in India, and violence towards women in Punjab. Helen has great respect, and admiration for the work of Diwan Manna. “I hope that the Dewsbury exhibition will be used to promote his work in Britain.”
As an artist of Asian descent, I find this work to be the most original and creative work to have emerged from the contemporary Indian arts acene.
For further information on the exhibition please contact Helen at the Art Gallery at Dewsbury Museum, Crow Nest Park, Dewsbury Tel: 01924 468171
