CHENNAI: To artist Indubala Tatavarthi, art means something colourful, where the choice of colours come automatically. “They mix with each other in my imagination,” she says. She is part of one among the twelve special-artists from Svavalambana Trust — that works on enhancing the lives of those with developmental disorders — who’ve displayed their paintings and photographs at the Russian Centre for Science and Culture.
“On days I have the mood, I stay up till one in the night and paint upto five paintings. When I have exhibitions, I paint up to 200,” she adds. Growing up with learning disabilities, Indubala realised that art is her forte. She now holds a diploma in drawing and painting from Kalakshetra and has even displayed her artwork in an exhibition at Italy.
While Indubala is the oldest and most experienced artist in the palette, the youngest is only eight-years-old. There are artists with Down’s syndrome, cerebral palsy, learning disabilities or who fall under the spectrum of autism disorders channeled their creativity on canvas. “Special artists, especially people under the spectrum of autism, speak a lot to you. They are very expressive, not through words but through other forms,” says SR Padmavathi, the managing trustee of Svavalamban Trust. She adds, “Some of these artist see things we fail to see, their perception in art is entirely diffferent. Which is where these paintings and phtographs come to our aid.”
Niranjan Ravi, a 32-year-old artist and photographer, has a thing for nature. “He loves taking pictures of animals. He points to what he wants to capture. We set up the tripod together and then he takes the picture,” says Augustine Thilak, the special instructor who trains all artists except Indubala. Speaking about Niranjan’s gift, Padmavathi adds that he manages to capture a certain beauty in things that we can't see.
However, each of the twelve artists have a distinct style. “You can tell a lot from their strokes and by the way they hold their brush,” says Augustine. "Most times they pick the colours. The shapes and forms start appearing to them naturally. In other times, I just change their palette and ask them to explore newer colours and the change in their creations is startling,” he adds.The exhibition is on until November 19. For details, call: 9841330227.