Spurred by the pollution around him and inspired by childhood memories of vast agricultural land and grazing buffaloes, hyderabad artist Sayam Bharat Yadav’s ongoing exhibition titled Where are we going with the world? at the State Art Gallery awakens a sense of eco-consciousness in viewers.

The 43-year-old National Awardee, who trained under eminent artists like Thota Vaikuntam as a kid, feels that the current environmental situation warrants such a show. “I have been planning to come up with this exhibition for four years now, and the current situation is apt to showcase these works. Also, the support from the State Art Gallery and other galleries in the city has made the exhibition possible. I would not have been able to organise such a huge exhibition on my own,” he says.  

Bharat completed BFA in Painting from S.V. College of Fine Arts, Osmania University, and MFA in Painting from S.N. School of Fine Arts, University of Hyderabad.  

The most striking exhibits are a teak wood-and-fiberglass installation of bull horns on a cart, and a huge painting on canvas of cows and buffaloes wearing gas masks and goggles.

“As humans we are so obsessed with getting all the privileges that we don’t think about the environment and the damage caused. This series of works, which includes 50 drawings, paintings and installations, is emotionally very close to me. I hope the fact that the entire art fraternity and seniors like Laxma Goud, Thota Vaikuntam and Laxman Aelay have supported and appreciated the works will pave the way for a healthy conversation on protecting flora and fauna,” Bharat says.

The artist took around four months to complete each huge canvas and hopes to soon start working on more sculptures and installations on his favourite theme of the human-animal relationship.