THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: ‘Veenapoovu’ instantly evokes the words of Kumaranasan’s famous poem. The lines that lamented on the pathetic fall of a flower that had a proud existence is familiar to lovers of poetry. The artist’s interpretation in colours redefines the attributed image of the ‘Veenapoovu’ and connects it to the fast losing greenery and vegetation on the earth. K S Ramu, the creator of the painting says, “the poet wrote the lines when flowers bloomed in abundance. Now, plants and trees are being cut down, as a result of which, flowers may become a sparse sight in future.”
At the exhibition ‘Colour of Truth’, he has displayed several paintings that unfurl the unseen or less talked-about aspects that lie behind several things. Almost on similar lines is ‘Theevandi Yathra’, an acrylic work on canvas. The work is a metaphor for the ‘fire’ inside the mind of every woman who lives in constant fear of violence against them.
In ‘River Nila Lamenting’, the footnote runs as “they now made me a skeleton and my bones of waterless rocks protrude”. The painting is about the slow death of ‘Bharatapuzha’, fondly called Nila.
The artist has judiciously directed his brushstrokes to speak on contemporary issues in a different style. In the oil painting titled ‘The Mud’, the subject is the Padmanabha Swamy temple. But instead of elaborating on the treasure inside its vaults or the immediate fame it coveted, he brings in another aspect. On the canvas, we see men who laboured hard for creating the huge structure.
In another painting, the artist underscores the introspection that needs to be done by every human being. “Throughout their life, people are curious to peep into the lives of others. In the race to achieve great things, one forgets to think about oneself. But towards the end of the life, that introspection on ‘who am I’ naturally happens,” he says. In the painting, we see a person sitting on his haunches looking up at the starlit sky where he sees his own reflection. The backbone, designed as a feather, symbolises the transient state of human life.
The artist’s ease with acrylic stands out in the works. Sometimes, it turns difficult for a viewer to distinguish between oil and acrylic. He has also made astonishing works by mixing various mediums like charcoal and crayons, water colour and acrylic and so on.
The exhibition is open at Museum Auditorium from 10 am to 6 pm. It will conclude on Friday.