Strokes of solitude

BENGALURU:  While days in lockdown seemed gloomy for many, artist Kedar Dhondu wanted people to realise that their house could also be a sea to explore new things or invent something every day. This gave birth to his project ‘Lonely Residents’, where he asked people to share a photograph of themselves at home, along with text about how they’re using the quarantine time and how they feel being confined indoors.

The resultant pictures were then drawn with graphite on paper (43cm x 28 cm), with the drawings uploaded on Instagram and Facebook. “I felt by giving importance to ‘Lonely Residents’ in the form of art, people will feel good about it, forgetting the tense situation. I also hoped that people could use this time to reinvent themselves,” says Dhondu, who teaches at Goa College of Art.

Dhondu has received 31 entries. Photographs came in from Goa, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Udaipur and also Montreal, Paris, London, Bangkok, and New York. His favourites were those by Barbara Gavezotti from Bergamo in Italy. Gavezotti had included the following words with her image: “My city is suffering. The virus has erased generations. The increasing numbers of deceased has been a shock and now we will pay the consequence. Bergamo will get back on her feet slowly and we will all begin new life once again.” Speaking about this entry, Dhondu says, “By doing this, I have not only portrayed Barbara but I have tried to depict the feelings of each and every person similar to that of Barbara in the Lombardy region of Italy to the spectators of my artwork.” 

The other favourite comes from Bengaluru resident Raj Naik, who was quarantining after travelling to South Africa. Along with his photograph, he shared how neighbours were talking about maintaining distance from him and how reports of deaths due to the virus robbed him of his sleep. “Working with the feelings of people all around the world and understanding their difficult situations made me realise the tough times they have been facing throughout the entire lockdown,” says the 39-year-old artist. 

The project was a part of Sunaparanta Goa Centre for the Arts’ ‘SurvivingSQ’ initiative. Entries may have stopped coming in but the series is not yet done. According to Dhondu, it will only be completed with strokes of watercolours. “Doing this project was a great use of my time during the lockdown, so I am happy about it. I will start the watercolour work soon and will work on it for 3-4 months,” he adds.