Jigmet Palmo
Ladakh, the northernmost region of Jammu And Kashmir State, remains conspicuous for its unique hoary tradition, culture and heritage. The rich cultural and traditional virtuosity bestows a kind of magical halo to the fabled moon land which also boasts of an out of the world natural beauty.
Ladakh along with other regions of Jammu and Kashmir has been experiencing the onset of new age. The case of development of modern art as seen in the contemporary practice of few gifted individuals is one such example which deserves mention.
Chemat Dorjey is one such young artsit who has the honour of becoming the first modern sculptor of Ladakh. Born in 1989, Chemat Dorjey belongs to a well to do Buddhist family. It was his good fortune that taking note of his inborn artistic talents, his family sent him for professional training at the Institute of Music and Fine Arts, University of Jammu (IMFA), wherefrom he recently completed Bachelor in Visual Arts with Sculpture as specialization.
Chemat Dorjey, who has already made name for his creative sculptures in the State, believes that every soul is born with different talent and it was this innate talent and passion for art that drew him to seek more into the subject. He further believes that his passion for art evokes in him a divine energy and spiritual rhythm to perceive and then render one’s own expression of divine hood. ‘Art brings an intrinsic feeling to gaze, learn and absorb more into determining the essence of beauty and reality of nature’, say Dorjey.
Much of his creativity reflects the cultural spirit of Ladakh and thus his works re-introduce for us the native spirit and tradition of his motherland. His artistic renditions reflect the religious symbolic forms like stupa, mane etc bearing religious script on the surfaces. The surfaces of the works are treated with textures. Besides all these works he also plays his imagination on different aspects of life that he experiences around him. He also fuels his imagination from varied sources including his playful childhood days.
However the interplay of religious symbols that reflect his cultural moorings is depicted in a manner that evokes visual rhythm in the compositions of his sculptures. His hard work and long practice in art is also reflected in the drawings, sketches and few paintings in color and design. He actively works in fiber, wood, terracotta, paper and in mixed media. Compositions like ‘Turning Mane’, ‘Unwritten Script’ etc are engraved with calligraphy on the surfaces to make the composition visually more strong. To achieve this level of artistic skill he worked throughout his formative years under the guidance of his teacher Ravinder Jamwal, Bishamber Mehta and late Govind Kour, the artists\teachers at IMFA. For him struggle and hard work is the best way of living a life.
He quotes that he drew his inspiration from LAMO (Ladakh Art and Media Organization) in which he had been working as a research fellowship since two years. They focus on the concept of old town which particularly helped him to comprehend and conceived the very old tradition and heritage of Ladakh. During his presence at LAMO centre he organized a workshop giving a basic fundamental and knowledge of color, sketches and objects to students from various schools of Ladakh.
He has participated in various camps and exhibition and has already won accolades for his creative sculptures. Some of the award that he had received include the First Position in Clay Modeling competitions organized by Jammu of University in year 2011and 2012, Best Performer Of The Year Award given by IMFA Jammu for the year 2011-12, First Position in Clay Modeling competition organized at Badharwah youth festival on November 2010 and awards in Jammu and Kashmir state exhibitions of 2009and 2010.
His exhibitions at Jammu University, and group exhibition at Kala Kendra were inaugurated by Divisional Commissioner Pradeep Gupta, IAS. He blessed him for his hard work and artistic creations. The three days exhibition attracted and inspired many amateurs including Ladakhi students and thus helped in creating awareness about modern art within Ladakhi student community.
Chemat Dorjey’s annual display at IMFA proved his passion for art by revealing almost 35 creative works in various medium. Love and admiration for his rich cultural legacy has led to bringing forth the rendition of traditional art into so called abstract realm. One of his pioneering works ‘cultural evolution’ celebrates an important dance of Ladakh traditionally known as ‘Chabskyan Dance’ (kettle dance). Another work titled ‘landscape’ which weaves and imbibes the high hills, typical stone of Ladakh, sacred Chaitya (stupa) and the sacred buntings found in Ladakh landscape. He created and rendered the concept into a composite structure that highlights the importance of traditional values of the far flung region of Ladakh. After completing his graduation he aims to continue his further studies in sculpture and hope to gather more experience and to ultimately work to promote art as part of modern education in the Ladakh.
[The author is a student of Art History and Aesthetic Department (IMFA)]
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