KOCHI: A mid the dark blue wildness of nightfall, a couple is sitting by a pond with two little paper boats in their hands. A frog rests atop the leaf of a water lily, and its flowers reflect on the water. While yellow mukuthi and white thumba flowers stand witness, the couple shares a loving smile, under the moonlight. Nilaavu by K G Babu is breathtakingly surreal and magical, with haphazardly strewn foliage amid the striking blue frame.
Nilaavu is part of Babu’s recently concluded solo exhibition ‘Journey of The Dragonfly’ held near Stockholm in Sweden. Another frame showcased at the exhibition, The Mystique of Water, has magical waterdrops shining on a blue elephant ear leaf while a bright red, almost scarlet, dragonfly watches it in awe. Babu is an enchanter who finds the magic in simple, everyday things around us.
Babu’s artworks, mostly oil paintings swim in a midplane between the surreal and real. “I don’t want my art to be categorised. It doesn’t matter if it’s surreal or realistic. What matters is the idea behind it, the philosophy of it. It’s a game of confusing an onlooker,” says the celebrated artist.
One with nature
The life of the forest and its keepers, the Adivasis, come alive on Babu’s large canvas. But there are deeper meanings enshrined in them, in bright colours. Each human, animal and bird breathes in his frames, the water flows. You can even hear the sound of the deep forest if you listen hard. “Lokame Tharavadu or vasudhaiva kutumbakam — that is the concept I am trying to convey through my paintings.
This world belongs to all, from the smallest of being to the largest. We, humans, are just one among the dwellers of this land,” says Babu. When his brother married a girl from a native tribe, he had the chance to study their lives and in turn nature, better. One of his paintings, Girl and Her Family, is currently displayed at Lokame Tharavadu art exhibition in Alappuzha.
His love for blue speaks volumes too. “Blue is the colour of grief, of infinite vastness, of happiness, of the sky, of night, of mystery. Each shade of blue is different. The Adivasis are leading a life filled with grief. It’s evident in their eyes. But, their’s is also a life of content,” says Babu. He grew up near a forest. “That was where I was the happiest, though it was a life fraught with difficulties and poverty. That was also the time when I could sleep undisturbed, despite a leaking roof. Now, in the city, inside a two-story home, it’s difficult to find more than four hours of shut-eye,” says the 51- year-old.
Imagery
True to its name, the exhibition’s paintings all have the dragonfly as a centrepiece. Babu says he feels close to them on a spiritual level. “Their large eyes and transparent wings convey deeper meanings. The Indian philosophy believes there are four kinds of sights. The dragonfly’s eyes look deep, inside and outside. They can even migrate to faraway lands. They are strong despite their size,” says Babu.
Artist Dorina Mocan curated his show in Sweden. “I was always a fan of Mocan’s work. During the pandemic, when I posted that life for artists has become difficult and we are not paid enough for our works, she planned for a show in Sweden,” says the globe-trotting artist, who has worked from China to Middle-East and Europe. Around 25 works of Babu was displayed at the exhibition.