Visitors at the exhibition. Telegraph picture

Painter and graphic artist Bijoy Deori’s world of creation comprises nature and human beings in a crude, rustic manner.

At the same time, his creative pursuits contain unabated efforts to overcome the trauma and attain a certain mental height. But a sort of blockade because of today’s materialistic lifestyle somehow stands in the way of such an effort.

Yet, the tussle goes on. Sometimes Deori’s sensitive mindset gives an impression of surrealism too. His recent exhibition at the State Art Gallery on Rabindra Bhawan premises depicted Deori’s passionate concern for the uplift of humanity.

The show comprised 24 pieces of art — both drawings and lithograph works.

While the colour exhibits in lithograph exuded charm and were delight to the eyes because of their brightness and enchanting structure, the black and while drawings carried rare rusticity.

Of the first series, two works, titled Who Am I 1 and 2, deserve special mention.

In the first, the facial portion of a human figure in sitting position is covered by a thick layer of wood and some leaves and roots.

The entire composition reflexes a sign of tremendous crisis and anxiety that modern man is suffering from.

The second presents two human faces placed on top and at the bottom of the whole structure looking in opposite direction.

Both the faces are connected by the same roots and floral elements. The light yellow colour brings in a haunting essence while its elements bear Deori’s concern about fellow-feelings between two individuals.

Of the drawings, the first to strike the heart was the untitled work of a female nude. The hands are put upward and the face is oblique but astonishingly touchy.

The artist has maintained a fantastic design in the use of black and white. The entire composition looks like as if it is carved out of the body of a huge tree trunk.

The hands seem to depict an endeavour to come out of age-old oppression and exploitation. Deori’s artistry bears a rare freshness and the stamp of his own distinctive style and diction. His works clearly depict that he has a long way to go.