Sporting actions come alive in art exhibition

An exhibition of selected drawings by Tejbir Singh, titled Sporting Lines, that depicts lively sports action scenes has begun in the InTouch Gallery. The exhibition showcases drawings created with pen, ink and pastels. Being an avid sports lover, Mr Singh could not resist the temptation of creating a series of drawings from sports played in Bahrain as well as some international matches. These drawings show action snapshots from football, basketball, volleyball, handball, tennis, cricket, hockey, ice hockey, Thai boxing and horse riding.

An architect by profession, Mr Singh has been working with leading consultancies in Bahrain since 1998. He has been drawing since a very young age and has focused mostly on depicting historical buildings/houses and cultural sites in Bahrain. Lately, he has decided to explore figural studies, specifically with sports action imagery. I was always fond of doodling, sketching, drawing and painting. My teachers in school encouraged me and even introduced me to oil paintings at a very early age. My tryst with watercolours started when I joined Architecture College, Chandigarh. I also keep dabbling with pastels, charcoal, pen and ink, Mr Singh told DT News. 

Nature has always been a major source of inspiration for me. However, the architect in me is drawn towards the inherent and somewhat mysterious beauty of heritage buildings - be it the historical monuments in India, Bahrain or anywhere else. I am also inspired by the Impressionist artists,” he said. During the past couple of years, as a result of certain architectural projects in Muharraq, I have been drawn even more towards the heritage of this island and have tried to capture them in a series of pen and ink drawings with touches of colour (water colours, pastels etc.) where the theme is 'The streets of Muharraq'.

These works feature the hustle and bustle of the narrow street scenes with focus on the heritage buildings or mosques which are an integral part of the local community. Some of the works feature night scenes with the somewhat mysterious play of light and shadows whereas others are created using the architectural plans for certain projects overlaid on newspapers as a base, and in collage form. Quite a few of the scenes feature the fascinating co-existence and juxtaposition of the traditional and modern architecture present in Bahrain; the old and the new indicative of the passage of time, within one single viewpoint. As an extension of this, I have carried on and started working on some similar themes in Manama also and aim to cover other areas like Khamis and Riffa,” he added.

The exhibition will continue till the end of November in the InTouch Gallery within the InTouch Integrated Chiropractic Spine Center in Janabiya. The Center regularly displays works of Bahraini-based artists. The centre promotes artists in a relaxed atmosphere different to that of a traditional gallery.