Osian's Auction Catalogue Indian Antiquities and Modern and Contemporary Fine Arts | June 2015

Altaf Mohammedi 18 August 1942 – 17 January 2005 The Corridors of Alienation Oil on masonite board, 1968 S/d in English ‘ALAF 68’ on verso Inscribed in English ‘ALTAF/ The Corridors of Alienation’ on the stretcher of the painting 36.0 x 48.2 in (91.5 x 122.4 cm) Provenance Osian’s Collection, Mumbai ` 600,000 – 900,000 US$ 10,000 – 15,000 GBP 6,000 – 9,000 69 “In fact I did do paintings, which were very much related to my activities. I decided not to show in art galleries, because the galleries were catering only to a certain class and special audiences. Fortunately I came across a group of young people, mainly students who were very active and later through PROYOM (Progressive Youth Movement). I got very involved with them and could build contacts in the slum areas, in colleges. In these areas it is very difficult to take your work without an organization. I’m talking of a period between 1969- 74... I had friends amongst artists because of my sister, Nasreen. But felt that there was no real communication. It may be that they felt alienated from the kind of work I was doing. They felt it was too dogmatic, too harsh. It wasn’t aesthetic enough, but aesthetics was not really my main concern. My concern was to put across political ideas on canvas...”Altaf reprinted in ‘Altaf and Jitish (Kallat) - a dialogue’ rpt. in ‘Altaf in Retrospect’: Sakshi Gallery Solo ExC. 2002. “Jitish: Wasn’t it also that these ideas had to be simplified because your audience was not an art educated audience?” Altaf: It had to be simplified; in fact, it was graphic. I used to take ideas from Marx, Lenin and Gorky etc. and actually interpret it in canvas. So that when I took these works to the slums, I could get a response from them. They could understand and relate to the subject matter. Comrades also told me ‘your paintings should get a response’. It was like street plays, when you have a street play; you want to simplify your whole dramatic experience. Like people who gather around the street and you want to communicate with. Our main concern was to invoke ideas through paintings.” 152