Seeing waves of employees, armed with backpacks, rushing to and from offices during peak hours in Mumbai, artist Sujith SN gave form to his painting, Archetype, now on display at Vadehra Art Gallery in Defence Colony in Delhi.
“I see the painting as an archetype for the next generation, with workers seen as backpackers. Most of the employees these days carry a backpack, right from the software industry to the labour class. Although these men are in a queue, they appear separated from each other and lost in their own worlds, like islands,” says Sujith, 38.
Sujith chose to name his show after Mumbai, which is an archipelago of seven islands. “The use of human figures in the 17 works on display are like these islands, which, although connected to each other, are separate. The inspiration for this show came after I pondered over the property ads in newspapers, where lush and beautiful landscapes are depicted around the properties to exaggerate the idea of fantasy,” he says.
