KOCHI: The exhibition ‘Suspended Realities’ by Anoop P Rajendran, currently underway at Durbar Hall Art Gallery, showcases an amalgamation of art and new media. By way of videos and animations, the artist uses pickles as a metaphor.
In the first set of videos, cast to the walls of the gallery, the viewer is exposed to the art of making pickles. This then culminates in a video that shows a man eating from a plantain leaf and his wife serving him pickles. If served in excess, pickles, used to enhance the taste, can turn debilitating. The art thus captures the human tendency to exaggerate a single aspect of an event instead of looking at diverse factors.
Is there a political message? “Art cannot be devoid of politics, as it is the product of one’s experiences and background. One’s part invariably penetrates any artwork. What we do is influenced by our politics and thinking,” says Anoop.
Like any artist, he, too, had begun with regular, static sketches. “Soon, I realised that GIFs were an excellent medium as they communicate a lot more than regular artwork. Later I turned to videos, as they evoke stronger emotions,” says Anoop, who is an architect by profession.
During his time studying in Ahmedabad, his love for architecture and art merged and grew manifold. “What further nourished my interest was my time at the Biennale Library in Fort Kochi in 2013. The interactions with people there and the abundance of books related to design, be it fashion design, graphic art or architecture, roused my curiosity,” says Anoop.
After a period of imitation, he began unravelling the deeper layers of art, exploring the why rather than the how. He was inspired by several works, including those of Zaha Hadid's, an Iraqi-British architect and artist. On realising that each work is the manifestation of one’s experiences and perspectives, he started honing his own style.
Anoop prefers not to explain his art to people. Instead, he wants them to interpret art in their own way,. “It is not practical to impose one’s opinion or viewpoint on others. For instance, a person from Thanjavur is likely to see the work and read it as caste politics,” Anoop explains. Art, according to him, need not convey any particular message.
The solo art exhibition concludes on December 11.