• Temporal Dimensions” Exhibition by Obayya
  • Curated by: Lina Vincent
  • Opening Date: September 22, 2023, at 4 pm
  • Location: Centre d’Art Citadines, Citadines, Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India, 605101
  • Exhibition Dates: September 22 to October 7, 2023
  • Timings: Mon-Sat, 10 am – 12 pm and 2 pm – 5:30 pm (Closed on Sundays)
  • Parking: Available at Town Hall parking, Auroville, SHENO Centre d’Art

TEMPORAL DIMENSIONS by Obayya

Anyone growing up in urban India understands the meaning of crowds – the forced sharing of small spaces and limited resources by large numbers; the feeling of insignificance and being lost in the multitudes. The stories of many of these people remain untold; they are the anonymous cogs in the ever-grinding wheel of societal progress, pawns in the game of capitalist economies that feed a cycle of production and consumption.

For Obayya, observing and documenting these unknown crowds, and portraying workers in their spaces, became part of his language. Through his work, he subtly draws attention to social hierarchies, notions of class and caste that are ingrained in our culture, and the pervasive inconsistencies that populations have to bear with.

The exhibition ‘Temporal Dimensions’ brings together sequentially developed series of artworks by Obayya from the last four years. The paintings, drawings, prints and lately, sculptural installations draw attention to his preoccupation with the human condition, and the truth of lives that are tied to perpetual service in return for basic living needs.

It was during the pandemic (2020-21) that crucial aspects of the human struggle came to the fore. A sense of alienation grew, widening the divide between the privileged and not so privileged. There was mass migration, and crowds were moving across the country, attempting to get back home. Obayya felt the need to record those intense moments, to get closer to the experience of individuals and offer value to their existence by including their stories in artistic narratives.

Embedded within temporal dimensions, Obayya has built the ability to communicate both the familiar and the strange through his work. He presents a deep engagement with the human psyche, and engages sensitively with the difficult subject of migration – whether forced or chosen – as well as the meaning of ‘home’. His work pays homage to the resilience of those who toil; it is a monument to the tenacity of the human spirit.

Lina Vincent 2023