![dummy cap 2022 Thiruvananthapuram:City express Arya story photo:Poojappura park in Thiruvananthapuram.BP Deepu Express Photo[Kerala,Thiruvananthapuram,Daily Life,Poojappura park]](http://media.assettype.com/TNIE%2Fimport%2F2022%2F10%2F3%2Foriginal%2FOn_constant.jpg?w=480&auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=max)
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ajesh Suresh, a native of Thiruvananthapuram, has opened a conversation with his audience with his debut video installation in the capital city. Through the art, titled ‘Conversations…Memoirs of an Artist’, Ajesh takes city folks on a journey through site-specific installations connected with social and environmental tensions.
A total of ten video installations are communication between the artist, his subjects and the audience who come across them. Ajesh says he is against the conventional rule of observing an art which cannot be touched. “I try to think out of the box and now I look at art from a different angle than the conventional parameters, which are a barrier to art appreciation. The show presents key works of my past 20 years of art explorations. Since the beginning, I have focused on the communicative nature of work. These installations are a constant communication where I invite my audience to indulge in the work,” he says.
Through his works Entangled (2010) and an ongoing project ‘A Dialogue between spiritual and physical self’ make sure of audience participation.
“These are some installations with no restriction for the audience to touch and feel it. In Entangled, viewers are welcomed to step on the white ropes on the floors. It was a performance art I did at the Edgbaston Campus in 2010 while pursuing my master’s. Even the tangled layers of ropes are art. While ‘A Dialogue’ is a performing art where I travel across the heritage spots, tourists and religious locations across the world with a table and two chairs. I spent hours at each location gazing toward the site turning my back to the camera. I have placed the table and two chairs in a similar way in the exhibition room. The onlookers can also sit and travel to these spots with me. I believe it gives the viewer a space for conversation with himself or with the universe,” he explains.
Coming up with a site-specific installation was a challenge for the artist. More than the execution, Ajesh says, he takes more time to conceive the idea. The artist has covered topics like freedom and the right to education through his unnamed work, performed in the Philippines which was his favourite. His other international projects include Memoirs of a Tree (2010) in England and The Walk (2016) in Indonesia, The Vanishing Blues (2004) in South Korea and Red River (2016) in Vietnam.
“Working on them is physically and emotionally a challenge. I also explore theatre tools in the art installation works. I dedicate these works to young upcoming artists and art students across the state to make them think about where they are and where they want to be as an artist,” explains Ajesh, who plans to take the show to Kochi soon.