Broken images, distorted contours, unique media, singular forms and a muted, yet passionately emotive, tonal palette — these are characteristic features of Samir Aich’s art, which expresses intense emotions rather than being narrative in style. This was also the case at Told Untold, an exhibition of Aich’s paintings curated by Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya at Gallery Charubasona.

There is turmoil in this dark world. A sense of human suffering and disaster looms as contorted bodies and severed limbs lie strewn. Bunk beds reminiscent of concentration camps and bodies wrapped in white shrouds, which bring to mind the second wave of the pandemic, add to the sense of foreboding. But the source of these troubles is abstract, shapeshifting.

The most striking bits of the exhibition comprise Aich’s pensive animals — cats, dogs, birds and other creatures hover over scenes of carnage or watch as emaciated shells of humans destroy themselves and the planet they inhabit.