Artist in Me series

Collage as Discovering moments through collage, led by artist Shashikanta Mohanty, explores collage making as a critical artistic practice thato examines societal disillusionment, historical trauma, and political unrest. Drawing connections between Tyeb Mehta’s response to post-Partition violence and the figure of the “angry young man” in Indian Parallel Cinema of the 1970s and 80s, the workshop reflects on how artists and filmmakers translated collective unrest into powerful visual languages.

The workshop foregrounds how art can function as a reaction to its the socio-political climateclimate it is created in..Participants will examine how Tyeb Mehta employed fragmentation, repetition, and the diagonal line to convey rupture, alienation, and violence, and how similar ideas emerged in parallel cinematic narratives of resistance and disillusionment. Through this lens, the workshop demonstrates how minimal visual interventions can carry intense emotional and conceptual weight.

Beginning with an artist-led discussion, the session introduces participants to the historical contexts and visual strategies used by Tyeb Mehta and filmmakers of Indian Parallel Cinema. Participants then work with on a collage, selecting and reassembling visual fragments through with sharp breaks, diagonals, and flat planes of colour echoing Mehta’s use of fragmentation and tension as expressive tools.

By the end of the workshop, participants will create a finished collage that brings together cinematic imagery, personal reflection, and historical inquiry and , offersing insight into how complex socio-political realities can be deconstructed and reimagined through contemporary artistic practice.

Participant Takeaways:

●      Understand how historical trauma and political unrest can be translated into visual form

●      Explore Tyeb Mehta’s use of fragmentation, diagonals, and minimal intervention as conceptual tools

●      Learn how collage can function as a method of critique and reflection

●      Engage with parallels between visual art and Indian Parallel Cinema

●      Take home a finished collage that reflects both personal experience and historical inquiry

Artist Bio

Shashikant Mohanty(b.1994, Orissa) is an emerging Visual Art Practitioner. He completed BVA in Painting from Government College of Art and Crafts, Khallikote, Ganjam, Odisha in 2017 and Pursued MFA in Painting from S.N School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad in 2021. Mohanty’s artistic practice focuses on architectural concerns and their subordinate role within broader socio-political and personal narratives, exploring how these resilient frameworks shift across various contexts over time, while navigating the conflicts inherent in personal space within society. Mohanty is presently practicing under the guidance of artist Natraj Sharma in Vadodara. He was one of the active residents at ‘Shores of Serenity’ Edition -II, Dot Line Space Art Foundation, Chillika, Orissa in 2024, Space Studio Summer Residency 2022, Vadodara, Gujarat and Sanna Art Residency, Our Sacred Space, Hyderabad in 2021. He has been a part of several group shows including 'Trail' Group Show, MSU Faculty of Fine Arts (exhibition hall), Vadodara, Gujarat in 2023, “The Flying Goat Art Show 2.0”, Goa. curated by Shyamli Singbal in 2022, Abir First Take 2021, Hutheesing Center, Ahmedabad, “The Flowers Will Start Flowering,” a mobile exhibition, curated by Jasone Miranda-Bilbao in collaboration with Akansha Rastogi & Paribartana Mohanty, Gallery OED, Kochi, India, and Bilbao, Spain in 2018-19; Group Annual Exhibition, Lalit Kala Academy Regional Centre, Bhubaneswar, Odisha in 2015. Enter the Dragon, Five Lessons Self-Introduction. He has participated in several workshops as well such as Painting Workshop, organized by Lalit Kala Academy Regional Centre, Bhubaneswar & Govt. College of Art and Crafts, Odisha in 2014; Udadhi Watercolor Painting Workshop, Toshali Sands, Puri, Odisha in 2015; and State Level Young Artist Camp at Jajpur Chitrakala Academy, Jajpur, Odisha in 2015.

While you’re here, we invite you to also explore KNMA’s ongoing exhibition TYEB MEHTA Bearing Weight (with the lightness of being)