CHENNAI: Amal Mohan’s art has an intrinsic power to them; be it the quick strokes of blue, green and ochre melding into each other or the use of comb strokes and harsh tones to imply the impact of technology. True to his works, the themes are powerful in exploration — human chauvinism, the power of the female form, feminism, and misogyny in society.
A self-taught artist, photographer and short filmmaker, Amal is exhibiting his work at La Gallerie D’Expression. “I’ve tried to portray several feelings through my work. I’ve been inspired by many people including legends that I’ve come across in books,” says Amal, who cites Carl Sagan as an inspiration for one of his works, ‘Pale Blue Dot’.
He has explored themes centering around female subjects, including survivors of breast cancer and also acid attacks.
Since his childhood, he was strongly affected by themes of women and their trials and tribulations. “One poignant work is ‘Lilith, Hypatia and Nirbhaya’; where the theme revolves around the eponymous characters who were at the receiving end of cruelty from society,” he says.
He also has a standalone painting titled ‘The Sixth Extinction’, which is again based on a very popular book that inspired him.
All paintings are done with oil on canvas and some through mixed media. “I usually work on several paintings at a time. Whenever I get bored with one, I move on to another. That’s my style,” he grins. He finished them all in under a year.
Amal is also a professional physiotherapist and is a researcher of Cardio Pulmonary Science. “I always try to not let it influence my art work. At times, a lot of the research has come in handy.
For example, human anatomy helped me include figurines in my works. But as a principle, I never paint with figurines as my focus. Reading is my inspiration that sometimes it takes form on canvas, which is open to interpretation,” he says.
(Drop in to La Gallerie D’Expression, Ambassador Pallava, Egmore to observe Amal’s works till December 30)