The stark realities that it disclose makes ‘The Seven a m’ group show at Eka art gallery, Kunnumpuram, Fort Kochi, distinctive from other exhibitions. Be it the acrylic painting, ‘Is Democracy a Milch Cow’, by V B Venu, that unspools the deplorable condition of the masses reeling under the authoritarian rulers, or the simple yet poignant work, ‘Pomegranate’ by Ajith K A, that has layers of meaning hidden underneath the dripping blood-red pomegranate fruit, each work stands apart for its unique picturisation of society that we live in.
There are 22 paintings by seven artists, that are done in varying mediums like water colour, acrylic, charcoal and oil colour. ‘In Balanced Rythm’ by Mathai K T is done in gauche paints, that is translucent than the traditional water colour. The work shows human forms in aerobic posture, many of them fixed in mid air.
A striking collection among the works are the charcoal sketches of Ajith. The artist says the inspiration behind his works is the black and white films that he had seen years back as a student. “The light and shades of the movies of Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer have particularly inspired me while sketching this works. Black and white strokes have an inexplicable depth in them,” says the artist.
There are six works by Ajith. The sketch, ‘Coffee Break’ that has an astray, flower pot, and a pencil has been done using ‘frottage’ technique, that is by placing the paper on top of the object and then rubbing over it, with a charcoal. Other remarkable works are ‘Holiday’ and ‘Holiday-2’.
There are three paintings by artist Mukesh Sharma done mainly in yellows, blues and greens. The sketches and water colour paintings of V B Venu have a clear politics, that of the unvoiced section of the society.
The work, ‘Buddha on the Bed of Arrows’ shows Gautama Buddha lying on the arrow bed, in the backdrop of industries that emit poisonous gases. “Buddha symbolises peace,” says the artist. In another work, ‘Gandhi in Between’, Bapuji, surprisingly, stands in the midst of Buddha and Christ. Both of them have plain faces with no features.
“If I have completed the work, that would have appeared more or less like a photograph,” says the artist. He also has exhibited two other works titled by the same name ‘Mask Seller’. The others artists whose works are on display are Sreelal K S, Robert Lopez, Berendra Pani and Mathai K T. The show will conclude this Sunday.