Mohinder Tuli, who is holding a solo exhibition — Contemplation: A Show of Collages and Carbon Drawings — gives a glimpse of his unique creations

Parbina Rashid

Does art help people remain young? Scientists think so. Mohinder Tuli knows so. This 81-year-old artist tells us with a twinkle in his eyes, “Preparing for this exhibition and finally watching it come to life has turned my body clock back by 10 years, at least.”

The spring in his step reiterates his claim. It is a win-win deal for us, who gather for the launch of his solo exhibition — Contemplation: A Show of Collages and Carbon Drawings. Who would mind if almost six decades of creativity comes wrapped with childlike exuberance and youthful enthusiasm? After all, a glimpse into Tuli’s art den also means a peep into the city’s evolving art scene.

Tuli loves flashbacks. As he guides us through the 40-odd frames on display at Government Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10, he travels back and forth in time. He recalls his childhood in Karnal, his fascination for kites, paper accessories for mythological plays, folk art and his journey to Chandigarh as a young student of School of Arts.

“Coming from a small town, the art school was a revelation. I saw works of great artists like Shobha Singh, Kartar Singh, Jaswant Singh for the first time and that left a lasting impact,” he says. Tuli is happiest when he sees reflections of their style in his work even today. Despite his admiration for those great artists, Tuli chose his own technique. He started collecting waste pieces thrown away by students and then tore them, reshaped them and arranged them on cardboards to recreate something new.

“I didn’t even know the name of the genre of art I was dabbling in. It was much later that Prof BN Goswamy put a name to it — collage. That gave me validation. Otherwise, I used to wonder ‘I don’t use paint or brush, only waste papers. Does that make me an artist?” His art made him popular. But on the flip side, he earned the name kabadiwala. “This is a name I own with pride,” he laughs.

Well, once settled on the genre, Tuli became part of a group called Chandigarh Art Forum, which was established in 1967 by the likes of architects MN Sharma, Aditya Prakash and SS Bhatti, art historian BN Goswamy, artists Prem Singh and Sohan Qadri. “We were given a room in Sector 22 dispensary for our art activities by historian and civil servant MS Randhawa. We put up our work there and later at the canteen of PGI before we were given space at the Tagore Theatre and KC Theatre. In 1970, Punjab Kala Bhawan was conceptualised by Randhawa and finally art found a place of its own here,” he recalls.

While the city struggled to find a place for art and artists, Tuli’s transition from a student to an artist was smooth. “I was plain lucky,” he contradicts. “The Chandigarh Administration had invited MF Husain to put up his exhibition at the art gallery of the museum. When he refused, they approached me and I got my first solo exhibition in 1967.”

There has been no looking back since then. He has participated in all major art exhibitions. Has won many state and national awards, and his art has found place at all leading art galleries, including National Lalit Kala Akademi and AIFACS.

Tuli’s art has evolved too. In fact, a new phase for him started in 2007 when he worked extensively on collages and carbon drawings, which he makes with carbons produced by burning of earthen lamps. “My work can be divided into three major phases — art school phase, pre-2007 phase and post-2007 phase,” he says.

This current phase sees his art work getting more complex in terms of composition and themes. There is this Ukren series that captures the plight of people caught in the Ukraine-Russia war. It’s dark and thought-provoking. And then, there is Rebellious, a woman asserting her feminity. In the same line, there are Dancer and Socialite. Tuli’s philosophical side reveals itself in Drifter, Pathos, Moody and Fragmented that symbolise conflicts and resilience of the human mind. These are bright frames with golden yellow as the dominating hue.

Compared to his earlier works, distortions of forms are more pronounced in this series. For him, an abstract figure adds to the allure quotient. The same principle goes for his carbon drawings too.

The history of collage-making may go back to the 20th century art movements, when artists like Picasso and Braque used discarded objects and paper to challenge traditional forms, but Tuli does not want to venture into that area. “Whenever I see a discarded piece of paper, I see a form in it.”

Simple words to describe his creative process. In fact, Tuli likes his life simple. Anything complex, he saves it for his canvas!

(On till October 1)