Pincodes: Celebrating art’s unusual medium of postcards

From Pincodes, an exhibition of painted postcards
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

“I was looking at modern modes of communication and wondering how though they often cost next to nothing, the consequences are many — junk mail, fake mail, an overload of text and images both still and moving,” says artist Giridhar Khasnis.

Coming from a generation that grew up in the 1970s and 80s, he reminisced on how the post card served the most basic purpose of communication. “Three specific personal instances came to mind. One, my first job interview call was on a postcard. Two, I was informed of my first acceptance for publication via postcard.”

Giridhar shares how the third was slightly more interesting. “When I went on my first Himalayan trek in the early ‘80s, it was to be a 15-day affair. On the day of departure, my father handed me a set of postcards with our home address asking me to drop a line every few days from wherever I was.”

When he returned, he found a few postcards reached after he did, but they were all souvenirs of his trip. “I felt youngsters today were missing out on the kind of fun we enjoyed and with this in mind, I began to put together this exhibition.”

Giridhar says he wanted to make this a small experimental show, giving unknown artists a platform to display their talent, and he partnered with Pradeep Kumar, faculty for MFA at Bangalore University, who handpicked students who had recently passed out.

From Pincodes, an exhibition of painted postcards
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

Apart from the students and works by Giridhar and Pradeep, postcards by artists Rudragaud Indi, Vaman Pai, a master framer from Udupi and HS Venugopal, an art teacher known for his depiction of tree trunks, will also be on display this weekend.

“We were looking at a mix of young and old, upcoming and established artists, all of whom would find it challenging to create on a 3”x4” space,” says Giridhar. While some have miniaturised their styles to fit a postcard, others have literally stepped out of their comfort zones to create anew.

And much like the artists, the postcards too sport a plethora of media — acrylics, watercolours, collages, pop-ups — and subjects. “We gave them complete freedom to choose their themes — 10 postcards cost ₹5 — and since most of them come from small towns in Gadag, Dharwad, Koppal, Udupi, their art represents their surroundings, sightings, concerns, feelings, and joys. And while I am happy with the outcome of this idea, it seems the medium, the postcard has become the hero.”

Giridhar says one ponders over a postcard in the comfort of home which is why the exhibition itself will be held in, “an intimate, close and appropriate,” living room space, courtesy Meeta Jain, an architect in the city. “The idea was to make visitors comfortable in a homely and inviting setting, especially those who might find a gallery overwhelming.”

The exhibition will be open from 11am to 6pm on September 9 and 10, and visitors can meet the artists at 4pm on both days.

Pincodes, an exhibition of painted postcards, will go on display at Meeta Jain Architects, 2nd cross road, MR Garden KEB layout, 1st stage, Sanjaynagar. For details contact 89750 18236 / 86002 63636.

Pincodes, an exhibition of painted postcards
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement