Urban Claustrophobia

Kanchi Mehta

Mrinal Dey’s recent body of work, “Waiting in the Wings,” reflects the artists’ claustrophobia caused by current conditions of urban life. He uses symbolic imagery as his language to express his dilemma of progress and growth in our society, which is resulting in us becoming slaves to it. Instead of expanding and propagating peace, it is only causing us to close down and adjust to smaller spaces and cubicles at high expenses in the concrete jungle of large cities. It causes discomfort and yet in some strange way we are proud of the so-called ‘progress’. Dey compares the problem of space in urban life to matchboxes that everyone is attempting to squeeze into. With businesses on the Internet, phone banking and television, traffic and pollution, little need is felt to leave home and indulge in outdoor activities. Dey reminisces olden times in his childhood when the fields and parks were where they grew up, in large homes, joint families and the innocence of youth. In comparison, today’s youngsters have toys like video games, computers, and calculators etc. that bind them indoors and convert them into technology addicts. 

Growing up in a contemporary society, Dey continued to feel more and more distant to reality. His paintings have an element of satire and helplessness where the figures are depicted as voluptuous and over fed people, content with their surroundings and at the same time struggling to make ends meet. After long hours of working in large metropolitan cities we remain small fish in a big ocean, live in tiny homes and continue to wear a smile on our faces even if we are not happy from within, as expressed in the work, “Keep Smiling”. He has used symbols of the Recycle sign at several places in his work that symbolizes the changes we have to adjust to. The many compromises of the urban dweller are aptly described in the statement “Blue Finder”. Surrounded by matchboxes, cardboard boxes and a cityscape a man sits with his feet crossed trying to look desperately beyond the wall at the inaccessible blue square (which symbolizes peace, calm and satisfaction). Another image used often is the ‘barcode’. Frequently seen at the back of every consumer product sold in the market, the barcode records the product details and price. Dey uses this symbol to signify the dominance of consumerism. Like his works, “Progressive Symbol” and “Premium Candidate” and “Premium Challengers” that portray well marketed and trusted brand like LG, BABA and AMUL that have become integral to our systems and for which we are ready to pay a premium price.

“I Am Coming” and “Golden Memory” emote discomfort, in the former, a fairly healthy man is diving out of his congested home and into a blue pool, which, in turn is concentrated with the seduction of progress. “The progress is only in the mind”, says Dey, “…even though the mind is becoming smaller”. The latter, “Golden Memory” shows two men cramped in an area to barely fit each other, their bodies, like liquid, taking the form of the container. Their apparent discomfort is completely negated as it seems a matter-of-factly situation to them. One more symbol appears in Dey’s works, which is the sign widely used in fast food chains as the “Non-Vegetarian” food product; a red dot within a red square. He uses this to indicate the violence that is prevailing in all directions and gradually fear is becoming a large part of culture, as citizens continue to be passive bystanders.

 Mrinal Dey, an artist from the North East of India and trained at Shantiniketan, is not the first artist to be disturbed by urban claustrophobia; however his representation and expression has an engaging iconography. Fully aware of art historical precedents, he draws the attention to his work with the technique of hatching and strange letters and symbols floating on his canvases. 

One of Beijing’s most important contemporary artists, Yue Minjun’s iconic laughing faces were captioned “Cynical Realism”, a key movement in Chinese avant garde art in the late 80s. It was at a time when the community characterized a loss of idealism, increased cynicism, and a greater disengagement from any regeneration of culture. Dey’s concept of a degenerate society, which is directly proportionate to the progress of a nation, is on the same lines.