Kolkata artist Dipendranath Pal explores memory and urban decay in 'Palimpsest of the Soul'

New Delhi, Oct 22 (UNI0 Ageing walls, peeling paint and crumbling façades of North Kolkata form the starting point for artist Dipendranath Pal's latest body of work, which explores the relationship between architecture, memory and the human psyche.
Titled Palimpsest of the Soul, the solo exhibition, curated by Georgina Maddox, is being presented at Triveni Kala Sangam Art Gallery. Through layered surfaces, textured compositions and unconventional materials, Pal examines how buildings retain traces of time even as the city around them changes.

Born in 1977 and based in Kolkata, Pal draws inspiration from the city's old architectural landscape but stops short of literal representation. His paintings occupy a space between abstraction and figuration, using cracks, weathered textures and accumulated layers to evoke experiences that resist direct expression.

"Painting gives me that ability to convey these intangible elements," Pal said. "I believe that all forms of expression are neither abstract nor figurative. It is somewhere in between, you could say it's a shade of grey. Hence it covers the impalpable."

The exhibition's title refers to a palimpsest, a surface on which traces of earlier writing remain visible beneath later layers. In Pal's work, the concept becomes a metaphor for both the city and the individual, with urban surfaces reflecting histories of habitation, change, neglect and renewal.

Pal describes his paintings as a form of documentation, but not documentary representation.

"I think both are true of my work. It is a documentation but not a documentary because it is much more than that," he said. "In a sense the memory trapped within my work will continue long after I am gone."

His practice combines acrylic pigments with materials such as sawdust, tamarind-seed powder and glue. The artist said he had been experimenting with these materials for eight years, with the approach developing into the body of work presented over the past three years.

The materials carry both physical and cultural associations. Sawdust sourced from old buildings, he said, retains something of the character of the structures from which it comes. Tamarind seeds, known locally as Tentul-beej, have traditionally been used as a binder by artisans, including idol-makers in Kolkata's Kumartuli neighbourhood.

For Pal, incorporating these substances is not merely a technical decision. It connects the paintings to the material history of the city and to traditional craft practices, allowing the medium itself to become part of the narrative.

Kolkata's changing urban landscape provides a broader context for the exhibition. Old buildings are increasingly threatened by demolition, redevelopment and neglect, raising questions about the preservation of architectural heritage and the memories associated with it.

Pal sees his work as addressing both the urgency of preservation and the significance of decay.

"Every time one of these old buildings is demolished, a piece of Kolkata's collective memory is erased," he said. His paintings, he added, serve as a sanctuary for a vanishing history.

At the same time, he views peeling plaster, cracked walls and moss as more than evidence of deterioration. They are traces of the generations that have occupied these spaces, reflecting the passage of time and the changing lives of the people who inhabit the city.

The relationship between external surfaces and internal experience is central to the exhibition. Pal said his work offers a glimpse into his own inner world, while also exploring the dilemma between what is visible and what remains beyond verbal expression.

That ambiguity has allowed viewers to bring their own interpretations to the paintings. Pal said some visitors had associated his work with conflicts in Gaza and Iran, although these were not themes he had deliberately set out to depict. Others responded primarily to the paintings' colours, textures and eruptions of material.

The artist welcomes these differing readings, saying he encourages viewers to interpret the works freely rather than follow a prescribed narrative.

The exhibition also reflects on Kolkata's postcolonial identity as the city negotiates its historical inheritance and an increasingly globalised urban environment dominated by malls and high-rise buildings.

Pal believes architectural imagery can help younger generations remain connected to the city's past, including its history of resistance to colonial rule and its continuing search for a distinct identity.

As he looks towards future work, the artist plans to explore window panels characteristic of North Kolkata's older buildings. He hopes the subject will allow him to develop more nuanced textures and aesthetic possibilities within his existing material practice.

Through his work he brings together the physical remnants of a changing city and the less tangible residues of human experience. His paintings suggest that when buildings lose their original forms, the memories embedded in their surfaces may continue to shape how a city understands itself.UNI AAB