Karle Ki Koshish, a solo exhibition by Shreyas Karle comprises of drawings, sculptures, prints & installations. Jyon til mahin tel hain, jyon chakmak mein aag, Tera sai tujh mein hain, tu jaag sake toh jaag. I quote from mystic saint-poet Kabir in order to decipher Shreyas' works. Just as Kabir used simple examples from daily life to arrive at a deeper understanding of the self, Shreyas' work also transform the mundane to communicate a much larger philosophy. Most transformations can only happen when there is a keen observation of the situation. This is possible, as Shreyas himself states in his video works, by positioning oneself at a distance. One is able to see clearly by moving out of the situation, thus allowing one to percolate within and thereby, realize. The format adopted by him to express his philosophy is a popular and effective one. Often one can draw parallels with the notion of negative publicity helping derive the solution to a simple conundrum. Where he associates with the branding of 'Kharab Chai' available on long distance trains as an alternative marketing tactic for drawing attention, one can find some resonance of the concept of 'Neti Neti' or 'Not this, Not this' to be able to deduce the truth. He thereby resorts to the use of the absurd and the non-ideal situations from our daily living to create experiences, to be subjected to a deeper enquiry. His approach has a folk-like simplicity of story telling but with a mission. In most of his works, he is like a Bahurupia, assuming various roles and identities -- an anthropologist, a scientist, a preacher, a teacher, even God incarnate -- and yet always succeeds in keeping them at bay, without ever missing the opportunity to scratch at the right place...by deliberately leaving a loop hole so as to penetrate and expose the mask.
- Hemali Bhuta
