flamingos

Over the last 12 years I did so many works of flamingo the migratory bird and elephant the uprooted slave to understand and experience the dislocated or the alien (!). They are not my concept or idea but they are the subject metaphorically the life I find around me. Although I know some textual languages of conversation, but the only language I can comprehend in conversation is painting. So I painted them over these last 12 years not as any concept or idea, but as the strangers I want to develop a conversation with.

Painting is my language and perhaps the only language I can comprehend. Like those fellow travellers in bus, train and street who are despite we spend time and at times even after travelling days together, we know nothing about.
I paint them to develop a conversation-
to know them
to talk to them
They are everywhere
At every man made boarders, outside the periphery of our illusionary comforts, they struggle just to survive,
hoping to find peace and life and losing those battles.

They look beautiful and cute outside of those periphery as someone not among us. They look good in painting. Hanging within our four walls and decorating, they look beautiful.
They are acceptable till they breach those rectangle composition and walk into our life alive. That moment, they become alien, threatening and dangerous to us
That moment...
Dalits
Muslims
Rohingyas
Disfranchised Assom Bengalees and Muslims
Mohajhirs
Pashtuns
Syrians
Bagladeshi hindus
Pakistani Christians
Mexicans
Italians
Nigerians
Liberals
.....
.....
That moment..

Narendra Raghunath

November 8, 2017

funny ! FB finds this image objectionable and deleted! :-) :-)
whoever reported this image as objectionable, a reminder it takes only 2 seconds to upload it again. so please forget it