Ajay Menon has deftly captured a dying tradition of the Panniar tribe in Wayanad in a side portrait of a lady shown donning an earring with spherical red beads, encircled by fine layers of the bamboo. “The current generation does not wear them,” says Menon. He has also showcased an interesting landscape photograph of the mist at dawn overhanging the lush green lawns of the Top Station in Munnar. Celebrate Kerala, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at The Museum of Kerala History on August 25, kickstarted with Aeethettix, an exhibition of diverse artworks such as drawings, paintings, photographs and installations by 40 artists. Rajasekhar Vishnu Das, organiser of the show, says that he has been working on this project for the last four years. The idea was to showcase the works of artists from different fields to showcase their ‘vision’ of Kerala.
The exhibition is a motley selection of artworks with no forthright theme or connecting thread. However, with the contribution of works by both well-known artists such as Riyas Komu, Valson Kolleri as well as a fresh talent like Imitaz Kadeer, among others, the exhibition is definitely worth a visit. Veteran sculptor Valsan Kolleri says that there are
certain ideas that are better presented in a particular medium, because of which he decided to show ‘a specific state of mind’ in a painting. “Sushupti depicts a great state of mind, which is more than a dream,” he says. Sushupti is a panoramic view of the multi-layered sky hovering over the old ruins of a cemetery. The eye-catcher is a ‘portrait of a man’ by Shibi shown as ‘lost, puzzled, perhaps a nervous wreck’ sitting before the canvas in a daze.
The selection of colours for the background and the ‘eerie subject’ gives the painting a ‘stand out feel’. Rathi Devi Panicker, who prefers acrylic on canvas, has painted a suspended pupa, which is a metaphor for a veil, covering unknown faces as the dog nervously watches on. Panicker has portrayed the present world that is engulfed with suspicion as depicted in the bloodshot eyes of a dog. Imithaz Kadeer’s photograph of the Kodungallur Bharani, a regional festival in the Thrissur district, depicts ‘the exact moment’ where a man is seen in a state of trance. This man is surrounded by a group of people shown with their hands drawn towards the sky, in their customary wait to grab bananas that are to be dropped from above. Another absorbing photograph shows two monks conversing at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. Robert VJ’s installation of a wooden throne reflects the political state of Kerala where there is an intense power struggle, contrary to his vision of a ‘politics without self-ambition’. Robert, who hails from a family of
carpenters, has engraved the Christian cross on a vertical post to express his view of power he believes is sans deceit and ambition. The seriousness of the artworks is punctuated by a drawing of an oversized goat seen feeding on a plant. “The motifs, drawn from old buildings in Ponjikkara, are symbols of colonialism which continue to have a presence in the society,” says cartoonist Bonny Thomas. Other artists who are showcasing their works include Abdul
Haque, Saiju Sreedharan, Sunil KR, Sridevi, Aatmaja, Minesh, Vinu R, KP Pradeep and Ambish.