Lot 2: Untitled

JAGANNATH PANDA (b. 1970)
Untitled
signed and dated 'Jagannath Panda '05' (lower right); signed, dated and inscribed 'Jagannath Panda'(on the reverse)
oil on canvas
61½ x 39½ in. (156.2 x 100.3 cm.)
Painted in 2005

Acquired directly from the artist

The idea of painting a peacock came to Panda while living in a farmhouse on the outskirts of New Delhi. Peacocks, native to the region around New Delhi and the state of Haryana in India, are being forced out of their natural habitat as the city grows to accommodate its increasing population. At the farm, Panda had direct contact with these birds and saw how they had learnt to adapt and share their surroundings with humans.
While in this painting Panda portrays a peacock in urban surroundings, his concerns go beyond addressing the encroachment of their space. Rampant hunting of these birds for their meat and feathers has lead to a steady decline of their population of peacocks. The hypocrisy of this situation lies in the fact that Peacocks are recognized as the integral part of India's identity being the National Bird. Further, they are venerated as good spirits in Hindu mythology, yet all this is quickly disregarded and forgotten by humans as they charge ahead to satisfy their own selfish needs.