CHENNAI: Barefoot daily-wage labourers, a narikuravar woman and child, a man donning a striped suit a row of 13 individuals grip a large intricate daisy-like flower masking any hint of their faces. Through this black-and-white wood carving ‘Language of Love’, artist Vijay Pichumani asks, what if we saw people the way we appreciated flowers?
“Flowers emit a scent to all equally. One wouldn’t crush a flower but see it as a beauty. There, they are not going to treat you as important whether you own a car or not. If we start talking to people beyond class and caste, there will be equality. But we don’t do it,” explains the alumnus of the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai, at his deeply personal solo exhibition ‘Naan Yaar’ (a clear statement, not a question) at Art Houz. For Vijay, anbu bridges societal barriers.
The gallery was buzzing with a crowd flitting around flowers of Vijay’s joyful artworks. Vijay’s devotion to his hometown Kalkulam Taluk in Kanniyakumari is indistinguishable from his four installations. He carries this politics of sensitivity to journeys on a green bullet named Pechuamma which led to the creation of ‘Meendum Varuga’ that details a conversation with an old woman working on Kodiyakarai salt pans.
Blossoming experience
Art historian Ashrafi Bhagat notes, “As a thinking artist, Vijay’s works are rooted in his experiences of the world. All his works exude energy…he has made use of flora and fauna. He wants people to identify nature and worship and preserve it”. She adds that the mountains never leave his artwork and his materials of choice, including copper, and wood, reflect a life spent with nature.
The energy and love for nature is the beating heart of his series of five sculptures aptly titled ‘Blossom’. Five human figures sit cross-legged and are modelled on five elements each and their necks bloom into detailed flowers. “For the earth sculpture, I used stone to make the errukumpoo. The water sculpture is water lilies. While people like lotus, they do not allow other flowers to grow. The air sculpture is based on lavender and it signifies that even if a flower blooms, it goes to waste without the fragrance in the absence of wind,” says the artist. He adds that the space sculpture is modeled on jasmine and he used an aralipoo for the fire sculpture which contains themes of Vallalar’s vision.
Vijay’s art is a masterclass in peace and Buddha’s teachings. “You won’t find vengeance in my work. Wrong things will happen, but if we continue to display anger, it creates vengeance. For me, I want to be as peaceful as possible,” he says.
Memories immortalised
The first-generation learner of his family recalls studying for exams in a cramped house under a chimney light. “In looming darkness, the light was a focal point, and like that if we are all focussed, we’ll achieve things. Often, I recall my father’s life, I see him as a teacher and an artist, he hasn’t studied; he worked with rubber tapping. He’d tell us anbu is important.”
This admiration is now immortalised, in a wood carving titled ‘Light of my Life’, which details his father cycling in tow with his family of five. Surrounded by a field of fireflies, the headlamp etches out a path for them and documents the mountains, butterflies, bulls, and many paths only nature knows. “The sequence is a jolly moment...When you see something, your vision becomes light,” says Vijay.
‘Naan Yaar’ will be on view until April 15 at Art Houz.