CHENNAI: A blank canvas can miraculously transform into locations and people with endless memories as an artist breathes life into it with his brush and paint. When the southern region researchers of the Lalit Kala Akademi were asked to showcase their work at the exhibition Parikrama-III, the place was adorned with talking canvases that spoke about the artists’ native. They breathed life into their own nostalgia. Elements of the sea from Puducherry, the rail journey from Mumbai, memories of earthquakes from Andhra Pradesh, and the fields and houses of Kerala, came to Chennai to give a glimpse.“ All these paintings and sculptures are created during our one-year-long stay in Chennai as a part of the research,” shared Vipin Vadakkiniyil, an artiste from Kerala.
Amol Khade’s painting representing the rural areas of Maharashtra, where he grew up, catches the eye of an observer due to its unusual size. The artist has joined three canvases and thoughtfully used bright shades of red, brown, and green, to complete his art series titled existence which talks about life in an agricultural field. While Ishwarayya P Mathapati used bright colours to portray God through the work of labourers and farmers. Artist Santhosh Pattar on the other hand delves further into the intricacies of his nostalgia and creates art narrating the relationship of farmers with soil, rain, wind and animals. Taking revolution into his work was artist Chintada Eswara Rao. The work titled The People’s Power was a metal and wood installation showing chappals on a barricade. He explained, “During the farmer’s protests, I was living on the Delhi border. I wanted to reflect the situation’s tension, struggles and reality.”
Providing a diversion from the vibrant paintings were the works of V Vasandan Virappan. The geometrical representations of men and women in earthy tones of brown and yellow embellished with fine black lines presented the viewers with the connection between spirituality and nature. He shared that his paintings are driven by ‘panchaputra’ or ‘pancha tattva’, that eventually creates a state where human beings are in harmony with nature. Also working on the brown shades was Vipin. He said, “I used to work on brown paper earlier and the shift to white paper wasn’t as satisfactory enough. Most of the paintings are drawn on the canvas washed with coffee, giving it the shade of the soil.”
His paintings are an invitation to his mother’s house in Kannur, Kerala. Through the silhouettes of kitchen utensils, pot, iron box and kerosene lamps painted with memories of childhood, the artist intends to bring his strong connection with his mother. Another artist from Maharashtra, Akash Parkhande tries to journal his daily activities in his paintings. Explaining his work titled Myself, a painting in which a rainbow streams out of the sun, he said, “They say that an artist’s hair is something powerful. Bigger the hair on an artist’s head, the more powerful and creative an artist is. I am equating the sun’s rays to an artist’s hair here. The innumerable rays deliver bundles of colours,” adding that each colour from the sun represents a tatva.
When all the other artists looked outside for inspiration, Ankita Daulatabadkar treated herself as the muse. Her black-and-white works convey her thoughts as a woman. Consciously refraining from using colour, she said, “Colour sometimes doesn’t bring much sense. Whereas here, I can focus more on the elements and the drama it creates.”Providing narratives from different parts of India, Parikrama-III gave a strong message to uphold one’s roots, for inspiration and growth originates from there.