THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As we walk into the Suryakanti art gallery at Sasthamangalam we are welcomed by a riot of surrealistic images exuding anger from every inch of it. It is hard to miss the anger that artist N K P Muthukoya, popularly known as Koya, feels over the deplorable and pathetic socio-political situation around us. Koya, a social commentator, is not scared of expressing what he feels in strong and firm terms. The exhibition titled ‘Nuclear Evangelism’ showcases some of Koya’s exemplary works that gives the audience a taste of the angry surrealist he is.
The very paradox in the title suggests the contempt he feels at the political situation.
“The title suggests nothing but the dichotomy of the situation around us. The very people sitting on the arsenals of nuclear weapons dictate and preach peace which is absurd and contradictory,” Koya fumes.
Born in Andrott, Lakshadweep, Muhtukoya received his formal training in art from the Govt. College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai. Koya who spent most of his life in Delhi, has worked as a visual director in the Audiovisual Publicity Department of Govt of India. His works can be compared to the likes of Salvador Dali or any other surrealist master.
Asked why surrealism Koya says, “Surrealism is the best way to express the exasperation that I feel over the state of affairs. No other genre can express in such beautiful terms the anger that I have. I do not want to diminish my anger in any way nor do I want it to be lost in the way. It is the undiluted anger that is seen in all my works,” says Koya.
Even as a child the very first doodles that came out of this artist had tinges of morbidity in them. “At the time, it of course was not intentional. I just scribbled what I saw around and what transpired happened to be something resembling a coffin.”
From then and till now Koya’s works can be seen as the evolution of an infantile anger that matured into an intellectual anger on the social, political and global situations around him. He says the anger never subsides as there are plenty of constant provocations around him. Those provocations are his food for thought.
We are welcomed into the world of Koya with the painting bearing the same name as the title of the exhibition ‘Nuclear Evangelism’. The painting depicts the peace pundits preaching peace while there is a ticking time bomb just underneath.
As we move on further, Koya brings our attention to the work titlted ‘Molten Epoch-2’.
“The inspiration for this work came at a time when France passed a decree banning Musilm women from using a veil to cover their faces. That had agitated the Muslim community. This is what I have tried to elaborate in this work,” Koya says.
He too was a man of conservative thoughts and nature. But education and exposure to the world outside opened up his mind and helped him break away from that kind of conservatism. “I was able to take in what is right and eject out what is wrong. I am a liberated person now whereas my religious compatriots are not.”
For his liberated attitude and views Muthukoya was ex-communicated from his island. He even got death threats for what he believed in. “I had become a threat to them because of my so called blasphemous nature. And the only punishment was death.”
In the work ‘Yogic Thandava’ he lays bare the falsehood and the deception behind the face of self-proclaimed yogis and religious gurus. “Such shams and deception are everywhere and in all religions,” he says.
As we move on Koya on his work ‘Divine Republic’ says that a game of chess can be compared to politics. The shrewd and calculated moves in politics are analogous with the game of chess.
The work showing an infant pissing on the chess board shows the dissatisfaction that Koya feels with the realm of politics these days. “I am disgruntled with the whole scenario and I react by pissing over it. The child in fact could be me.”
About his tutelage under KCS Panicker Koya says, “He is not only a great artist but also a yogic guru,” says Koya who believes that every work of art is the creation of a spiritually enlightened person.
“Panicker is a great guru in the sense that he does not hold the hands of his students and teach them to draw but instead he guides his students. Every artist while working comes to a blank point from where he or she can no longer go further. That is where Panicker comes and guides them in the right path.”
Koya who has received many prestigious awards has been on the art scene for quite long and has been participating in many national and international exhibition and art camps.
The exhibition which began on Tuesday will be on till August 30. Timing is from 11 am to 6 pm.