Ponni Concessao is an architect-cum-artist whose work is inspired by religion and social issues.Her paintings are on display at Art Houz till June 1.
CHENNAI: As you enter Ponni Concessao’s studio, you are greeted by vibrant colours. “I like to use a lot of colours in my work,” says the architect-cum-artist who leans more towards wielding the brush. Her works titled ‘India In My Eyes’ will be on display at Art Houz from Tuesday. “The paintings reflect my thoughts and they do not propagate anything. There are a lot of religious stories that are interspersed with today’s burning issues,” she shares.
True to what she says, a picture of three sari-clad, faceless women, catches our attention. We ask her if it represents the fact that women in the society have no right to express. She smiles and says, “They are Kunti, Gandhari and Paanchali.” Interestingly, she began painting it on the theme of triple talaq, but her ideas took their own shape. “For some bizarre reason, I am drawn towards Hinduism and mythology. Though I wanted to go for the controversial at first (triple talaq), later I started thinking of Mahabharata and drew these three women as if they were instrumental (in a good way) for the war,” she explains.
Calling herself a fusion artist, Ponni says that she took keen interest in gods and goddesses only five years ago. “I was an atheist. I was in the US for a decade and staying there made me look at India, its culture and heritage in an all-new light; hence the name of the exhibition. Also, I started realising that modern scientific inventions of today were all actually written in the vedas,” she says.
Ponni is a self-proclaimed feminist, and it reflects in her works too. She can link any topic to the treatment of women — both in the past and now. “Through my research on the ancient vedas, I learnt that women also performed pooja and were treated at par with men. However, somewhere down the line, that disappeared. But now I feel that we are finding our way back to a society where there will be equality. I see women calling the shots in most households today,” she says.
The architect, who has quite a few awards and popular buildings to her credit, was always inclined towards art. “I studied in Church Park and my teacher there encouraged me to take up oil painting. It is difficult as it needs to have layers; all my works have at least four layers,” she says pointing to the painting of three women where on one layer you can notice ancient Hindu scripts along with the names of Kunti, Gandhari and Paanchali written in Urdu, Hebrew and Hindi respectively.
The artist is also open to experimenting new styles. She constantly updates her brush techniques. “When I research for a topic, I don’t just read up on the character I am going to paint (if it’s mythological). I also look to better my techniques. My brush strokes are something that many senior artists have opined could be better. And I am a work-in-progress,” she smiles as she points to a work on worship that involves different brush strokes.
Possessing a strong voice in many subjects, Ponni wishes to do something controversial in her next set. “You just have one life. You need to make a noise before you leave,” she laughs.
Fusion art
Her other favourite work is portraying the Vedas and science in one painting. “According to the Vedas, the Brahmastra is the ultimate weapon you use to destroy everything that bothers you. In a way that is what atomic and nuclear weapons do. And this connection was made by Robert Oppenheimer, who was instrumental in devising the nuclear bomb that was dropped on Hiroshioma and Nagasaki. I revisited that through my paintings. Our Hindu heritage has concepts of advanced sciences.”
Sketching history
One of the first paintings she did for this series was an ancient map of India that shows the Indus Valley civilisation. “The map portrays the land of five rivers. There are three places of worship which shows that India has been accepting of all religions. The ‘dancing girl’ I have portrayed here was really unearthed. Overall I believe Indus Valley civilisation was the first smart city in the country as it had definite system for finance, transport, equality, and other basic infrastructure.”
Painting god
Ponni says that she is drawn towards painting lord Vishnu but she also loves to paint lord Shiva. “I find him (Shiva) bohemian. It is said that he has no beginning or no end. When I first drew a painting of his, I read up about him and learnt that he has a favourite colour, certain flowers that are not offered to other gods are offered to him, and more,” she says. One of her most powerful painting is of a shivalinga that she painted on her thumbprint. “I believe god is within us and that is what this painting represents.
I would call this my favourite,most easy and my best work.”