KOCHI: A woman’s design to conquer the formidable art world is often condescended as a snowball’s chance in hell. But came many women surpassing men in their will to strive and strike while easily making it their playground. They have often sought out a steal-of-a-deal with their vociferous oeuvres that touch the right social chords in a trice. When world art scene is teeming with women - barring a few notable names such as Amrita Sher-Gil or Anjolie Ela Menon - Indian women fail to make their mark in art. However, five female artists from Kerala are in a sole resolve to get their names imprinted in the realms of Indian art. Babitha Kadannapally, Dodsy Antony, Remya Sandeep, Vani Naduvath and Yamini, do not like to tag themselves as female artists. Rather they are five artists, who do not curb themselves from experimenting or just indulging in their first love, art.
Those who walk into Sooryakanthi Art Gallery, where the artists are flaunting their exquisite works, are in for a surprise. Women and subjects pertaining to them - social yet extremely feminine - are being brought out in a compelling manner on 23 canvases.
In multiple self portraits Vani narrates a story. In one of her canvases she paints a vignette from her hostel days, wearing a bathing towel across her shoulders, she is waiting for the water to fill her bucket. If it is not the danseuse Isadora Duncan herself in all her sultry yet serene posture, who else can be there in Vani’s ‘Freezing point’? The petrified eyes of the girl- could be Vani herself, who is drowning in a sea of impediments, seem to cry out ‘Mother, take me’. If Vani’s canvases hide a sense of self righteousness here and there, it is the helplessness of women that is being translated in Babitha’s works. Babitha, already an established artist in the state, maneuvers frail subjects such as women, flowers and hands with utmost care. More inclined towards etchings done with a copper sheet, she sticks to monochromatic shades, saving a few instances.
Barbie doll plays a significant role in a girl child’s growing up years, often becoming her inseparable companion. But most often than not the child end up idolising Barbie’s hourglass figure, her fair skin colour, her long golden tresses and her short dresses. For most girls, Barbie is the example of a perfect woman. Hence, instead of thinking healthy, it is skinny they vouch for. Dodsya, a mother of a girl, vents out her concern on ‘Barbie and me’ a little girl is eagerly watching her favourite princess doll, Barbie. Lighting up her images in rich hues of yellows, blues and oranges, Dodsy’s canvases explicitly bright. Her ‘Mobile Immobile’ reacts to society’s callous attitude towards women by seeing them as commodities.
Remya likes to paint on cow-dung wash paper, where she strokes simple monotonic lines in soft pastels, often accompanied by her thoughts and emotions. On one paper she pastes a photo of herself idling on a chair and writes ‘I am not in a hurry’, ‘aware of time’ and ‘not scared’. Named ‘Let me take my own time’, this work of Remya stands out for its uniqueness. In violent streaks of charcoal, Yamini creates a murky world looming with darkness. Her Riot series shows myriad obstacles thrown at men and women by various evil forces metaphorically portrayed by crows.