Jagannath Panda
Alpha Epic, 2011
Acrylic, Fabric, and Glue on Canvas
187 x 228 cm
Jagannath Panda
Shelter of Refuge, 2012
Plastic Pipes, Fabric, Thread, Auto Paint, Glass Stones, and Glue
80 x 45 x 25 cm
Jagannath Panda
Cult of Survival II, 2011
Plastic Pipe, Auto Paint, Acrylic, Fabric, Rexine, Glue, Plastic Flowers
188 x 175 x 266 cm
Jagannath Panda
Cult of Survival III, 2011
Plastic Pipes, Auto Paint, Acrylic, Glass Stone, Fabric, Glue, Rexine Plastic Flowers
94 x 112 x 147 cm
Jagannath Panda
Epics of Metropolis IV, 2008
Mixed Media on Paper
55 x 75 cm
Jagannath Panda
Epics of Metropolis VIII, 2008
Mixed Media on Paper
55 x 75 cm
Jagannath Panda’s work is characterized by a collage technique in which the surface of the canvas or sculpture is built up with layers of brocade fabrics blended together to create the skins of beasts and feathers of birds, to mimic foliage, or to approximate man-made surfaces. This hybridized surface treatment corresponds with many of the artist’s themes, which focus on moments, locations, and icons that are in a state of flux, caught between oppositions that can only be reconciled with anxiety and confusion. Panda’s portraits of the burgeoning new city of Gurgaon (where he lives and works) illustrate the tensions to be found there, as over-development threatens natural habitats, and infrastructures prove to be inadequate even before they are completed. Likewise, Panda’s mix of the mythological and the realistic points to the disoriented nature of Indian identity today, in its desire to synthesize the traditional and the contemporary, the indigenous and the international, the imaginary and the actual.
