A kaleidoscope of perspectives at Andhra University’s annual art show in Visakhapatnam

Experience a layered display of student art at Andhra University's Spectrum exhibition, exploring themes through various mediums until June 1.

Spectrum, the annual art exhibition of the Department of Fine Arts at Andhra University, is an honest dialogue between artists and the world around them. The show is a layered display of the works of students of BFA and MFA of the department depicting a tapestry of themes rendered in printmaking, etching, ceramics, woodcut and mixed media.

One of the standout works is War with Breath by Karingi Trinath, a three-by-four-foot woodcut that boldly addresses the subtle yet invasive violence of passive smoking. It is both deeply personal and universally relevant. Trinath’s self-portrait captures an inner struggle where his breath is held hostage by the second-hand smoke of a nearby smoker. The visual language is striking. Cigarette coils taking the shape of a serpent dominates the space like an unwelcome intruder. A squirrel, restless and alert, scampers metaphorically through the scene, mirroring the fragility and disquiet of the artist’s breath.

“This work is my way of expressing the claustrophobia I feel; my breath battling to survive in someone else’s exhale,” Trinath says. In another of his works in etching, Trinath shifts gears to critique the compulsive scroll culture of social media, using cattle as a metaphor to explore blind herd mentality and the erosion of individuality. The tone is satirical.

N Hyndhavi’s multicoloured work of printmaking depicts a classroom scene. At first glance, it appears deceptively simple, but the technique reveals the commitment behind it. “In printmaking, registration is everything,” says Hyndhavi. “When we use multiple colours, aligning each layer is critical. One misstep and we start again.” The composition brims with motion and colour harmony, capturing not just a classroom moment, but the entire atmosphere of shared learning and silent observation. It is an ode to process and patience, embedded in the printmaker’s craft.

Ceramic artist Anita Rao draws us out of the studio and into the open terrain of the Himalayas through her glazed stoneware work. It is a quiet meditation on solitude, altitude and the natural world. In another, she captures an overloaded Jeep, symbolic of the strain rural infrastructure bears under population pressures. The work alludes to the fragility of systems stretched to their limits, a powerful statement on mobility and safety.

The exhibition also includes student interpretations of the Ajanta caves, drawn from a recent field visit. The works pay homage to timeless artistry while giving it fresh context. From striking sculptures and paintings to experimental abstractions, they remind viewers of the continuum between past and present and the role of observation in creation.

The show is on till June 1. Timings are 10am to 6pm.