KOCHI: In Mattancherry, the quaint coastal town that is home to the famous Jewish Cemetery lies Nirvana Art Collective. Away from the hustle and bustle of the streets, the art gallery and workshop stands tall as a beautiful green space.
Known earlier as Indriyam Art Gallery, Nirvana was renovated during the pandemic and has been renamed ahead of its reopening after a lull of two years. The opening show, an exhibition called 7th sense is coordinated by artist Sreekanth Nettoor. It features the works of seven artists, including internationally renowned contemporary artist Kodankandath Antony Francis and his wife and artist Shirly Joseph Chalissery. Their work, The Triangular Series is connected by colourful geometric shapes. The Cat and The Family are solo works by Shirly. The Blades of Baramulla and Lakshadweep are done on bamboo canvas. “We worked on the series after my retirement in 2020, during the pandemic,” says Francis.
A behemoth work by Sreekanth Nettoor welcomes viewers as soon as they enter the gallery. The painting Rusty Ranch is a tribute to the farmers’ protest that rocked the nation for months. The plight of India’s farmers and the apathy of the government is portrayed in the frame entirely made of rusty hues. “Their protest went on for months. It became rusty, like iron that has been left outdoors callously. I couldn’t take part in the protest being in Kerala. So, this is my way of contributing,” says Sreekanth.
Sreejith Pottakattu’s paintings The Scarface and Raging Bull — the intense eyes of a leopard carrying many battle scars and a furious one-eyed bull — adds to the emotional weight in the room. Next to them, in a poetic juxtaposition, sits the beautiful landscapes with greenery and meditating cranes painted by Biji Bhaskar. His love for nature and his beloved birds have been carefully embedded in these frames.
Three works by artist Rinku Augustine, including Consensed which throws light on the over-dependency of humans on machines, bring out a colourful perspective. “Our lives have been confined to phones, laptops and TVs,” Rinku says. His work Roots and Blasphemy follows a similar style. Artist Raju Sivaraman’s works give a glimpse into ‘pandemic summer’.