KOCHI: Salil P Vaasudevan’s quest to find the why, when and what of Jesus Christ’s smile culminated in his recent series called Complacent (smile of satisfaction). The series comprises one oil painting and five charcoal drawings that explore these queries.
In one majestic frame, Christ, bloodied and bruised, wearing a crown of thorns, looks up to the sky with a small smile. His eyes are teary from the realisation that he has done all he has set out to do.
Though he is bruised all over, with dirt covering his body and head, and nearing the end of his life, he is content and complacent.
“I always wondered about his smile. All the artworks on Christ’s last moments have similarities. I think he died a content man,” says Salil.
The charcoal drawing of Christ also catches your attention with its enigmatic smile and detailing. “I don’t remember the Bible mentioning if the Christ smiled in the end or not. But this is how I imagine he might have felt,” says Salil, an alumnus of RLV College of Music and Fine Arts, Tripunithura.
He has made four smaller frames to add to the lineup too. He almost completed the series before the Covid outbreak.
However, the finishing touches happened during the pandemic times, says Salil. The frame of the grand oil painting is an epilogue to the series. All four corners of the frame are tied to four wooden poles with ropes, giving it a timeless allure.
“I didn’t plan for the frames to be part of the painting. I thought this would make it easier to transport. But it completes the work,” says Salil.
(The exhibition concluded on Monday)