There is the natural order of things where man, beast and nature inhabit their designated worlds. There is poise, equilibrium and harmony here and then there is chaos as we know it when lines are erased, habitats interfered with and innocence interrupted. Prominent art writer and curator Giridhar Khasnis possibly pondered these questions as he ideated a show about the unpredictable relationship between the animal world and us and the way we represent it in our art. A Twist in the Tail is the latest show he has put together with the assorted perspectives of 12 artists. What emerges from the works is firstly the intuitive, emotive connection that an artist has with other living beings. Ganapati Hegde’s chameleon is painted with joy and a sense of hope inhabiting a world where nature is not a footnote but a resplendent flourishing entity. 
Sunil Lohar explores far more complex terrain as he internalises both the beast and the prey and pits parts of himself against each other.
Venu’s evocative work makes a wry comment on an urbanscape of monolithic glass towers, where the absence of living creatures is underscored by the token presence of animal forms, incorporated artificially in the concrete jungle. Here a deer is suspended like an illusion between the sky and the earth, as is the figure of a window cleaner. There are no rooted connections here between man and animal and earth and only a dreary sense of isolation. Instead of trees, there are shafts of buildings yet to be born.
Rani Rekha’s work explores the teetering balance between life forms and the earth and paints a consciousness that is neither human, nor animal but maybe a balance that will tilt the scales and bring us all in sync with each other and the earth.
Shivanand’s work essays the difference between animals who are natural, instinctive yogis and human-beings who have to learn to harmonise their bodies through conscious effort on a Yoga mat.
This is a show that asks questions about our place in the world and if we have somehow taken more space than we need and have pushed other forms of existence to the brink. And sometimes it is just a summation of the wistfulness and the loss that the absence of equitable co-existence has led to.
The show is on at Crimson, The Hatworks Boulevard, 32, Cunningham Road, Bangalore 560 052 (Ph:6537 9223 / 2234 2634 ) and continues till the 30th