BPM short-listed four other Indian artists with refreshing diversity for the Bose Pacia Prize for Contemporary Art-Bose Krishnamachari, Yeshwant Deshmukh, M.C.S. Sai and Gopi Krishna. Krishnamachari, who is first runner up, says, "My body of work contemplates sociology and art history." His triptychs (three-panel work of art) are powerful juxtapositions of graphite drawings, photographic images and language. Krishnamachari, 38, has exhibited in nine solo shows in the 10 years of his fine arts career and was at one time voted the Best Young Contemporary Artist by The Illustrated Weekly of India.

Another resident of Mumbai, Deshmukh, 38, uses everyday objects to explore the metaphysics of space and form. Encouraged by mentor artist Prabhankar Brave in Mumbai to think hard about what affects a viewer, Deshmukh discovered his abstract style-minimalist and contemplative. His three paintings in the show are part of a larger series. In A Saucer, a small dish-like object floats in a glowing green space against two black thin vertical lines. In Empty Form, a hollow linear figure sits on a dark brown background. From in Bracket shows a small figure resting on a thin bracket of black. Deshmukh has shown primarily in Mumbai but has also been featured in two exhibitions at Gallery 7 in Hong Kong.

Sai, 36, is currently a student of Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi. Originally from Hyderabad, Sai draws on the themes of everyday life in India. His 28 photo-representational images of motorists wearing helmets exhibited at BPM study the increasing number of two-wheelers on the roads of Delhi.

EXPLORING SPACE: (clockwise from top) Deshmukh, Sai and Krishna & their works

"The risk levels prompted me to investigate the value of safety according to the motorist." He has developed a unique method of colouring these photographs with indigenous and religiously symbolic material such as turmeric and vermilion.

Inspired by his father, an artist of the Ravi Varma style, Western masters and regional architecture, Gopi Krishna's paintings are a commentary on the journey of an individual in the vastness of India.

The 12 pieces of The Gates of Decivilization exhibited at BPM were made on two consecutive days. "The two parts are halves of a gate and can be viewed as an entrance to my inner self," he explains. Krishna, from Thiruvananthapuram, is making his second international appearance-after a group show at School's Gallery in Amsterdam.