Living Temple art and culture festival begins in Hyderabad

Artworks by Charanjeet Singh

Living Temple, a three-day festival celebrating heritage, architecture, and fine arts, began at T-Works in Hyderabad, on Friday. The event spotlights a multidisciplinary art exhibition featuring works by 30 artists from across India. It also includes classical dance performances and workshops on Vedic symbols and Kerala mural painting.

Curated by Annapurna Madipadiga of EkChitra and supported by Telangana Tourism, the festival highlights Indian temple architecture, iconography, and the cultural ecosystems fostered by these ancient structures

.The art showcase bridges traditional and contemporary expressions. At the entrance, paper sculptures by Vaishali Rastogi Sahni set the tone for the diverse artistic perspectives within. Temple motifs such as the yali, scrolls, and ornamental patterns are reimagined in modern sculptural forms. Titled Embracing the Light and Inner Alchemy, these works invite viewers on a spiritual and artistic journey.

A photograph of a Yakshagana artiste by Amar Ramesh
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Photographs by Amar Ramesh spark conversations with their vivid portraits of Yakshagana and Therukoothu artists. His lens captures the intricate carvings of the ‘mandapam’ near the Madurai Meenakshi Temple, while also highlighting the ornate ‘mogappu’ — the carved and painted entrance archways of Chettinad homes.

Anil Thambai’s installation, composed of multiple panels, creates the illusion of a journey into the sanctum sanctorum, guiding viewers through a series of arches and pathways.

Appam Raghava’s series of Hanuman masks pay homage to popular iconography, while Aryan Patil blends admiration for traditional craftsmanship with a commentary on labour rights and social inequality. His installation, featuring a temple pillar precariously inclined and supported by a working-class figure, serves as a powerful visual metaphor.

The Nayakapodu masks of Telangana
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Charanjeet Singh’s art offers a layered commentary on history, architecture, and environmental concerns. He juxtaposes imagery of historic stepwells with vivid depictions of fauna sustained by these water bodies.

Drdha Vrata Gorrick, an artist born and raised in the US, takes a more traditional approach. Having spent years researching classical arts in South India, he intricately illustrates stories of Prahlada, Garuda, and Yoga Narasimha through detailed pen and pencil line drawings.

Sculpture by Vaishali Rastogi Sahni

Photographer Rishi Raj’s images of classical dancers reflect his appreciation for Indian art forms. A trained dancer himself, he has studied kathak, Bharatanatyam, and Bihari folk dance, bringing an insider’s perspective to his visual storytelling.

Himanshu Joshi’s mastery in printmaking shines in his mixed media work, Living Temple, which meticulously captures the intricate intersection of sculptures and murals on gopurams.

While Jai Khanna takes a traditional approach in depicting Krishna, Janardhan Rao Havanje presents the deity through Kaavi mural art, etching his form on lime and mud. Multidisciplinary artist N. Ramachandran juxtaposes Tanjore paintings with black-and-white imagery of Tamil Nadu’s street life, creating a striking contrast of colour and texture.

A standout piece is a series of Nayakapodu masks, traditionally used in Telangana’s folk theatre. Crafted from lightweight poniki wood sourced from the Bhadradri-Kothagudem region, these masks preserve a centuries-old artistic tradition.

The exhibition, which opens with bold reinterpretations of temple iconography, fittingly concludes with Vinod Daroz’s sculptures and installations. Using elliptical, nucleus-like forms, the ceramic artist moves beyond conventional imagery while evoking the serene essence of the sanctum.

(Living Temple is on view at T-Works, Raidurg, Hyderabad, till March 2)