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Drawing Room: Hemant Gavankar on Gieve Patel's Peacock at Nariman Point
Most art students face a dilemma at some point in the course of their studies. They are confronted with questions about the very nature of art and creativity, and finding one's artistic voice. When I went through this phase, I sought out the works of some of India's greatest artists. In that process, I discovered Gieve Patel.
Patel, who passed away at 83 in 2023, was the kind of artist who over the decades, seamlessly switched from painting to poetry, from sculpture to theatre. He was, until he retired in 2005, also a practising doctor. While realistic urban landscapes and human figures formed the subjects of his earlier works, the abstract and symbolic took over much of his later ones.
My favourite work by him is Peacock at Nariman Point, made in 1999. It depicts a man, standing before the south Mumbai skyline, with the sea and distant skyscrapers forming the backdrop. Yet the scene is far from normal. The man is holding a peacock.
The painting was inspired by Hoshi Jal's black-and-white photograph published in a newspaper at the time. Despite the change of medium, Patel's version captures the analogue quality of '90s print photography. It highlights the frozen quality of that never-before, never-again moment.
The painting is straightforward: Bright and complementary colours, clear visuals. The title is simple too – there's no play on words. But it calls attention to the moment itself – our beautiful, dramatic national bird right in the middle of the biggest office district in the big city.
It is Patel's statement about Mumbai's incredible growth after India's economic liberalisation. At a presentation in Chandigarh's Lalit Kala Akademi in 2016, Patel shared that he felt the need to memorialise the peacock's journey, as it would never return to this space. To many who view it, the work also marks a specific point in Indian art – the end of 20th century, with its tremendous cultural, political and social changes. Even the peacock echoes a connection to how frequently the bird recurs as a motif in Indian miniature paintings, as decoration or as a symbol of opulence and power.
Patel was slyly clever at what he did. He was unafraid of infusing his works with vivid colours and bold strokes. Even the abstracts display intricate detailing. The human figures he drew benefitted from his medical knowledge of the human anatomy. He also often challenged the perceived placement of the viewer in his works. Whether it was his series of deserted railway stations or his series of wells reflecting the beauty of nature, it still makes us wonder where we are. Are we waiting for a train or are we just arriving at our destination? Are we looking into the well from above or are we inside it, admiring the sky? And with the peacock, what's really on display?
I'm intrigued by this sense of ambiguity.
ARTIST BIO: Hemant Gavankar's mixed-media paintings and video art explore how gentrification and social change have transformed Mumbai. His work focusses on the simultaneous shifts in physical spaces and inner emotions over time.
From HT Brunch, June 14, 2025
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