The ‘Scream from Delhi’ almost deafens your ears and the broken woman trying to put up a struggle against the world stares into your very soul. “Most of the paintings are inspired by the Delhi Gang Rape incident. ‘Violated’, the piece has a part of me in it, in fact it stands for every woman who feels helpless to voice their resentment against the injustice shown to women as a whole. It could happen to any of us,” is what Asha Vishwanathan has to say.
A self-taught artist, Asha along with her father-in-law Hemachandran Maniedath, based in Kochi, have showcased the contemporary social issues in their exhibition titled ‘Voices’
Both vent their angst through a collection of 25 semi-abstract and figurative paintings with themes such as child labour, Khap panchayats of Haryana and female infanticide.
The duo is of the opinion that art should represent what he or she stands for.
In the light of the recent reports of cow slaughter and harsh treatment of elephants, Hemachandran Maniedath remarks, “We worship Lord Ganapathi and Nandi, then why are we torturing them.”
His paintings ‘Beef Biriyani’, ‘Tortured Ganapathi’,’Cattle Racing’ portray the woes of captured animals. ‘Tortured Ganapathi’, chained and oppressed by a dagger and rod, shows how the Indian tradition of reverence to animals and plants is given scant regard. It looks like the culture today tortures its own deities. The work is the most striking of the three.
Soul-stirring is the collection displayed.
‘Duality’ depicts the good and the evil through the colours and form of kathakali.
Passionate about sustainable living and environmental conservation Asha’s frame ‘Deforestation’ is about a tree burnt by a fire breathing serpent, that appears symbolic, but a closer look reveals that the serpent is made of human figures suggesting man’s hand in the destruction of nature.
“Abstract art is hard to understand but these paintings are mostly self-explanatory and can be enjoyed not only by great art critics but also the general public like me” says Joemon, one of the visitors.
Asha says “As they were driven by the themes, they turn out to be self-explanatory”. This is evident in the paintings like ‘Life of Pipe’, showing the divide between the rich and the poor through the the life of homeless pipe dwellers.
‘The Indian Housewife’ whose mouth is pinned up by a safety pin is thought-provoking.
Hemachandran says “They give her a ‘bindi’ and a ‘thali’ and call her the mistress of the house but when it comes to voicing her opinion, freedom of expression is denied.
The paintings giving voice to today’s social issues are done in water colour, acrylic and oil. The show will run through May 27.