CHENNAI AEleven young artists from the Baroda School are showcasing their takes on themes as diverse as globalisation, terrorism and feminism in an art exhibition aptly titled "Con-figure". Figures, both human and non-human, act as metaphors to convey the artists' impressions on a wide range of contemporary issues concerning society.

Lokesh Khodke, for example, juxtaposes time, space and power to portray the condition of the marginalised in society. One of his works harks to the grim aftermath of 9/11. Puja Chauhan attempts to question the stereotypes of women in society through her life-size women cloth sculptures-the very medium of feminist art. Pradeep Cherian invokes religion to show religious intolerance and the absurdities of inequity in today's world. While Ashutosh Bharadwaj ridicules the consumer culture by mimicking the "subway" mindset, K.K. Muhamed leaves his realistic imprint on large oil canvases, one of which reads, "This is not a still life".

"In many ways, these artists are only trying to counter the media-generated images of realism-mediatic realism-and have used parody and surrealism to convey their perspective," says curator Jayashree Venkatadurai. The other participating artists include Viplav Sashi, Puja Vais, K.P. Reji, Satyanand Mohan, Chinnan and Shefali Jain.

These GenNext artists, who passed out of Baroda around four-five years ago, are questioning the ideas of our times in a medium that is both fresh and engaging. "This exhibition is also an attempt to build bridges between the Baroda artists and the artists and viewers of Chennai," adds Venkatadurai, who plans to take artists from Chennai to other parts of India in a reverse flow. The exhibition will be on from June 10 to July 31 at Hues Art, Eldams Road, Teynampet. A must-see show.

-By S.S. Jeevan