CHENNAI: A bull stares at us from across the gallery. Frozen though he is in the square canvas, there’s a certain surrealism to it. And if you stare long enough, you may even imagine the bull breathing with its’ majestic hump rise and fall faintly. We quickly glance around Dimple’s Art Gallery, and we see only cows and bulls, some furious, some docile, some in the backdrop, some portraits — Pandi Selvam’s third solo show in Chennai is a harmony in hooves.
“Don’t look at the paintings as depictions of bulls, you will understand it more if you look at it as life in general,” Pandi advises, as he guides us through his paintings.
Pandi grew up and lived in the towns and villages of Chettinadu like Nemam and Sirukoodalpatti, Karaikudi. His attention moved towards painting when he met senior artists at an art camp. When they appreciated his work, he pursued a graduate degree in painting from the Government College of Fine Arts.
And from then on, he has worked as a freelance painter for the past 12 years. He has received several awards, like the State award of Nunkalali Kulu from Tamil Nadu Government last year, and the TATA
National award from Kochi Binnale(student Binnale) in 2016.
His present exhibition showcases paintings that were completed two years ago. “Our ancestors had a much more meaningful and deep life than we do at present. I speak a lot to elders, and all of them feel the same,” he shares — and it is this difference of lifestyle in rural and urban areas that’s depicted in this series.
He has used a bull as a subject while the backgrounds indicate the subtleties that make up rural life. The paintings have a random phone number in black, symbolic of ‘connecting with people from the past’, posters of yore and other symbols, and so on.
“I used to be very interested in manju virattu which was very famous in our village. When I was in Class 10, I used to take care of the temple bull, getting it ready for the manju virattu,” he recalls. Emotions and nuances of the bull are depicted in acrylic strokes of dark tones and shades, which reflect his state of mind living in the city.
Coming from a village to Chennai, adjusting to city life initially was a challenge, he rues. “There are many people who change their original names to suit city names and miss home terribly. But situations and consequences may not allow it,” he says, adding that this series was done mainly to trigger rural memories of those like him who have now shifted to the city. “It is my way of showing the circle of life,” he smiles.
Pandi’s artworks are on exhibit until January 20 from 11 am to 7 pm at Dimple’s Art Gallery, Dilmas Square, 2nd Floor, Opp Apollo Children’s Hospital. For details call: 99629 97461