DIWAN Manna is flapping his wings once again. This time, they’re about to transport him to icy Poland, its city of Krakow precisely, where an intriguing palace-turned-heritage hotel – Paszkowka Palace, in its exhibition space by the name of International Art Centre, awaits, with vacant walls, some stories of life, death and a whole world of hope inbetween. All these, & lots more wordlessness lies somewhere between Diwan’s shutters and lens. This, Diwan takes to Poland. “I’ve named the series ‘After The Turmoil,” shares Diwan, detailing how these 40 frames being with traces of his earlier series – Violence & Shores of the Unknown before curving at the newest reflections he lensed some ten days back in his brand new studio cum living room. Feels out he: ‘These earlier series tunneled somewhere into dungeons and domino effects of violence all around us and its many hideous faces. And then they burrowed somewhere beyond what we call death and all the mysteries and hidden shores around it. And now, I thought it was time to return – to hope and all the tenderness life is. So the third fraction of the series flutters around man, woman, hands touching, feeling, exploring the possibilities of all the softness life, longing, love and its many hues offer.” Yes, the frames spill out the soft and sensual. One breezes about with a bird on a woman’s lap, another feathers bonding across man, woman, bird tree – all of Nature. Shares Diwan” ‘It’s of an artist inside coming a circle – striking up an awakening call, steering attention to seamy surfaces and pulling in the ‘outsider’… But you can’t carry on like that. After greys and gloom, your insides spin around, & come away into arms of hope. In this last bit of frames I wanted to celebrate hoping, caring, caressing.”
The exhibition opens October 12 to a grand opening – buibling over with wining, dining and a special musical evening amidst select invitees, before finally calling it a day on Jan 11. Yes, it goes on for these many months in a city known to play host to some 40 million foreigners per year. The canvas is rolling out, Diwan! He smiles at the ‘blessing of living of my passion & finding feet across landscapes unknown. And exploring so much more of life,” We nod at fortunes of the most fortunate.
This time the wanderer in him carries him to England, German, Italy, France, USA, Greece besides the ‘never-been-there’ Poland before be comes home – loaded with more muse and waiting-in-th-wings series of Indonesia & self portraits. Keep flapping, Diwan – wings are probably the only way there is.
