At times, despite the attempts at objectivity, an artist’s identity invariably appears on canvas as his/her works carry elements of his biography, personality, gender, struggles, beliefs, hopes...
‘Varayadayalangal’, an exhibition of paintings by five up and coming artists – Sooraja K.V., Sijina V.V., Nikhil P.R., Jayesh K.K. and Lavanya A. showcased glimpses of what shaped them as artists.
Sooraja’s frames yell of women longing to break free. Take her series of paintings of women doing Malkhamb, for instance. Although they seem to be swinging freely in the air, take a closer look and you will find that what they are swinging from is not rope but their own braided hair. Another series of works shows a faceless woman in a blue printed sari sitting still in front of sketches of women doing various postures in yoga, gymnastics and dance. One feels as one looks at her frames that she is hinting at how she longs to be rid of the confines of society and just be. Says Sooraja: “A woman is expected to be docile and submissive. Although she may be able to take on the world, society, family, responsibilities... all seem to clip her wings.”
A few of Lavanya’s paintings depict women too. Frustrated at the kind of atrocities women face, she has painted women in despair against newspaper clippings that remind viewers about the abuse on women.
Jayesh’s frames have nature in harmony: butterflies flitting through a field of colourful blooms, animals sitting harmoniously listening to the tunes of a gramophone... his Utopia?
If bees flitting through a hive made out of bolts and a woodpecker pecking at a nail are subtle hints at Nikhil’s despair at the fast emerging concrete jungle, Sijina seems to have drawn inspiration from nuts and bolts. Says Sijina: “My father enjoys repairing stuff and has a collection of tools. As I child, he would involve me in his various projects and taught me things like soldering and drilling. While doing my Masters in Fine Arts in Hyderabad, I visited a scrap market. I was amazed at the kind of things available there and found that one person’s junk was really another man’s treasure. Often people don’t realise what they are throwing out, the worth behind some of the goods. Some of the paintings on display are scenes at the scrap market. I guess growing up surrounded with such odds and ends plus the sights at the scrap market led me to pick up the paint brush.”
The exhibition of paintings that is on at Vyloppilly Samskriti Bhavan concludes today.
