KOCHI: Floods have been ravaging Kerala consecutively. Though people stood as one during the time, they failed to protect nature, which was the primary reason for this year’s flood. To make people aware of the importance of protecting nature, 23 students of Cani Arts, an art school based in Irumpanam, has come up with the ‘Dream Catcher’ exhibition.
The show -- which is curated by Mona and Retheesh, alumni of RLV College of Music and Fine Arts, Tripunithura -- features 46 paintings and one installation named ‘Survival’. “The theme of the exhibition is survival and that’s what the children have depicted through the installation. Survival of humans and nature are equally important. The destruction of hills, forests and water bodies, in turn, results in floods and landslides. We were planning to do an exhibition about last year's flood. Unexpectedly, it happened this year as well. We need to fight back for survival,” says Mona.
The paintings are done in media such as acrylic, watercolour and sand and pencil. “The children were briefed on the theme of the exhibition because these are typically framed paintings. Children are the future of our land. We need to protect the earth for them. A dream catcher is usually associated with the object, but here we have presented the dreams of children,” says Mona.
About the installation, Retheesh says, “Without prior training in clay modelling, we provided the students with clay and asked them to interpret the theme. Having experienced the previous flood, they created the installation urging people to safeguard nature for a better future.”
According to the curators, people think of disasters only when they happen. "We should be vigilant and do things which prevent our land from getting destroyed," says Mona. The proceeds of the exhibition will be donated to the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund.