KOCHI: For someone who started illustrating because it’s another mode of communication, Bony Thomas speaks volumes through his black and white worldviews.
One of the first illustrations to catch one’s wandering eye is the imaginary island fabricated by N S Madhavan for his novel, Lanthan Batheriyile Luthiniyakal (Litanies of Dutch Battery).
Bony Thomas has quite evocatively translated the ideas through his sketches that make for the first series at the exhibition. “It’s a one-of-a-kind story where the author has envisaged a fictitious island somewhere close to the Ponjikkara island and the Cochin port. He has, in his own unique way, described the history of Kochi itself. The people, and the scenes from the novel line up the walls, starting from a map that illustrates the fabled island, to local tea shops, quaint churches and even a slow ball dance, where the dancers have turned their backs to the viewers.
The second series has 10 illustartions from the recently published short story collection of Bony Thomas, Dog Space.
Talking about his ten stories, he said that writing happened every now and then, however, he couldn’t bring himself to show them to the world. “The first short story that I wrote when I was doing my masters degree was my favourite. It was published in Deepika, but I somehow lost the story,” he said.
The former Economic Times illustrator added that since his chosen subject for studies was Economics, it didn’t give him much scope for penning fiction.
He admits that he’s hugely influenced by the works of artist Mario Miranda, who had awed him when he was as young as 12. “For me, cartoons or illustrations helped me express. Paintings or colours were never in the picture.”
Among his other illustrations, he has also displayed his retellings of the famous people and scenes from the acclaimed story of P J Antony, ‘Oru Gramathinte Athmavu’, which was also made into a movie named Kolangal by K G George. “It was a telling story and an equally profound narrative on screen; stalwarts like Thilakan, Nedumudi Venu and Venu Nagavalli had performed in explosive ways. When I started thinking about their characters, I found that I knew similar people! And these are my versions of the characters,” he smiled.
A quirky picture of a humongous cat lying on skeletons and bones with a bottle of vodka in the backdrop is from the renowned short story of M T Vasudevan Nair, ‘Sherlock’, which portrays the tryst between an alcoholic and a cat.
Bony’s illustrations for two of the more sought after writers in Malayalam, Benyamin and Unni R are also found at the exhibition. Some of the illustrations are for the next work of the acclaimed writer of award-winning novel Aadu Jeevitham, Benyamin about migration, and the Malayali diaspora. Others are for the sensational narrative on caste, ‘Ozhivudivasathe Kali’, by Unni R, that went on to become a state-award winning film directed by Sanal Kumar Sasidharan.
T Kaladharan, veteran artist and owner of Nanappa Art Gallery, said that the black and white sketching is gaining more prominence. “Be it Bony’s work or Artist Namboothiri’s, the black and white drawings are becoming a kind of art education unto themselves.”
The exhibition, organised by Orthic Creative Centre, will be on till March 30 at Nanappa Art Gallery.