Young artists brings nature's patterns to international exhibition at Chennai's DakshinaChitra

CHENNAI: What began as a biodiversity walk with children has evolved into Imago-1, an international exhibition featuring young artists between the ages of nine and 20. Curated by Diana R, founder of Diana's Art Room Studios and artist and sculptor M Vennimalai, the exhibition explores 'Patterns in Nature' through paintings, installations, woodwork, leather works and other mediums.

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The three-month project began when the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust's Nature Education and Conservation division, Nature Ed, approached Diana with a proposal for a biodiversity walk. Instead of treating it as a one-day field trip, Diana wanted the children to take what they observed back to the studio and develop it into an exhibition.

"We went on a biodiversity walk with the Nature Ed team. The children walked into the Irular settlement across the bank, and we saw tessellated scales on snake skin, ladybugs, turtle shells, red chameleon, birds, insects and many more things. The children started observing the patterns in nature. We brought those observations back into the art studio and took the learning further," says Diana.

The children then explored ideas such as MC Escher's tessellations, fractals, mathematical patterns in art, bioluminescent ecosystems, conservation and wildlife. What started as an observation exercise gradually became a deeper exploration of how patterns occur in the natural world.

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"It became a very big learning experience for the children and me. Rather than asking the children to reproduce what they had seen, I encouraged them to interpret the ideas that resonated with them. The result was a collection of works that reflect their individual observations and approaches," adds the curator.

One student collected real termite wings and made an installation. She spent 30 hours working on it, says Diana. The exhibition brings together works in different mediums, textures and forms, including canvas, installations, wood and leather. Around 90 per cent of the works are by students of Diana's Art Room in Adyar, while the remaining works are by young artists who responded to an international open call. The call received entries from Singapore and Russia, as well as different parts of Tamil Nadu.

For Diana, the process was as important as the final exhibition. "I channelled the children to draft something that resonated with them. They came up with their own works and went deeper into the topic," she says.

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Imago-1 focuses on patterns and structures found across the natural world, from the symmetry of animals and flowers to spirals, fractals and tessellations. The exhibition is divided into four zones, including Symmetry & Reflection, Spirals & Growth and Tessellations & Packing, encouraging visitors to observe nature through both artistic and scientific perspectives.

Diana says the project also changed the way she looked at the subject. "When you work with children, you realise that they observe things that we sometimes overlook. They ask questions and take an idea somewhere you may not have expected. So, I was also learning along with them."

The exhibition also aims to make the experience accessible to young visitors from different backgrounds, including neurodivergent learners, while encouraging curiosity, observation and creative expression.

For Diana, IMAGO-1 marks her 25th art curation after 24 years of working in the arts. "I wanted to create a space where children and young artists could be taken seriously as artists and could present their ideas in their own way," she says. IMAGO-1 is on view until October 12 at Kadambari Art Gallery, DakshinaChitra.