Indian Express-Chandigarh Newsline
10/06/2006 , By Sharin Bhatti
SIMPLICITY
The French Kiss
Smitten & in love...at the Lille 3000 exhibition in France, Indian art is being romanced. And Diwan Manna is the man of the moment
Sharin Bhatti
ONE eccentric architect. That’s all it took to link a newly-decolonized nation, India, with the meandering colours, the kan-kans and culture circus of France. Over 50 years later, Le Corbusier engineered Chandigarh, is providing the perfect stimulus for artists to create and bring back their art to the Museums in France. Starting this year, Lille 3000 will showcase exhibit art of performers, cinematographers, chefs and photographers from all over India at the ‘Musee des Beaux du Arts de Tourcoing’ at Lille, from October 14 2006 to January 14 2007. And Diwan Manna’s pictures will adorn the walls for the next three months. ‘‘Indian art is getting a lot of recognition in Europe, due to its growing economy. Chandigarh has always been a subject of art because of obvious reasons, only now Indian artists are also getting recognised,’’ Manna explains.
The artist will be showcasing two series, which took the museum curator and the art critics of France multiple visits to shortlist. ‘‘And they are my most vociferous works on Chandigarh,’’ Manna confesses. One of his oldest works, Alienation-2, reflects loneliness in a new-found Chandigarh in the late ’70s, when the city was just developing and Manna was still learning. And the other, Corridors of Power, captures the view from the seed of governmental power at the Punjab and Haryana Civil Secretariat. From black to picture, Manna’s Chandigarh is on French walls!
