On Chirag Patel’s canvas, Gir enchants

Chirag Patel’s artistic practice is deeply influenced by his lifelong engagement with the wilderness of Gujarat. His latest exhibition, ‘In Pursuit of Parallels’, is a reflection of this. Here, the breath-taking meets the challenging, the serene meets the wild. The exhibition is presently showing at Akar Prakar in New Delhi.

A graduate from the Faculty of Fine Arts, MSU Baroda, and a dedicated wildlife enthusiast, Patel has spent years immersed in the forests of Gir and Dang, working closely with the Forest Department and WWF on projects such as the lion census and educational camps for adults and children from a very early age. Patel held his first solo exhibition at Maneland Resort, Sasan Gir, in 2003. In 2009, he presented ‘This is Not It’, a solo show at Priyasri Art Gallery, Mumbai. Besides these, he has participated in numerous group exhibitions.

Curator Siddhi Shailendra says that with its rare distinction of hosting all five major biomes, his birthplace, Gujarat, offers him a palette as varied as it is complex. “These ecological environments helped him forge an intimate relationship with the lands that were at once his studio and sanctuary. His time in the wilderness, sometimes months at a stretch, was spent working on his projects for the forest department on documentation or data collection of lions, especially in Gir. In his ebony canvases, Patel captures the domestic familiarity of the lion, almost as if looking at a scene illuminated by the full moon in the night.”

Having studied the jungle closely, his works are detailed. Sun and wind, light and dark, the various seasons and the various hours of the day are illustrated.

“Spending his days over the seasons, tracking and tracing the movement of the lions and identifying different species, one thing Patel has perfected is to study the details. Reflected in his canvases, Patel perfectly portrays the transformations of these vistas; the greying stillness before a monsoon storm, the violet hues of a summer twilight, the shadows on the drying river beds, and the simmering embers of a peeking winter sun. These fleeting, often unnoticed intervals form the visual and emotional spine of his practice.”

Siddhi says Patel’s paintings are built through an evolving process of addition and erasure. “Using photo ink and acrylic, he works with thin layers, applying washes that are then partially removed before new layers are laid down. This technique allows the work to remain in flux until an image gradually emerges, that is, at once both intimate and atmospheric. It’s a method that echoes the stirring rhythms of the forest itself, slow, cumulative, and full of transient moments.”

On till June 21

Features