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Somnath Hore

Growing up in the rural environs of undivided Bengal, Somnath Hore’s childhood was filled with contradictions. He witnessed the slow pace of everyday life – herders tending to their cattle, farmers and agricultural workers dedicated to their fields, a life of quiet yet tedious labour fulfilled by a sense of community.  Simultaneously, his early years were often punctuated by events, such as the struggle for Independence against the British Empire, and his experience with technology when he saw his first plane in the port of Chittagong at the age of six. His worldview expanded, and he began to understand that life was not as linear and simple. Despite the atrocities he would witness in the years to come, Hore continued to carry forward these poignant memories of home with him which were perhaps reignited during his time in Santiniketan. A kind of a parallel practice developed where, despite his focus on human suffering and collective pain, Hore continued to engage with themes, scenes and portraits beyond it.

On display in the woodcut is a simple yet captivating image of a pasturing buffalo in a lush field. The buffalo grazes quietly with its tilted head towards the ground, marked by horns on either side, supported by its robust body. Hore fleshes out the details of the scene using intricate lines to highlight the texture of the buffalo’s skin and the light hitting it beautifully as it feeds. It is a unique ability of his to make a creature, one seldom takes notice of, to appear as a luminescent beast.