KOCHI: Kochi-based artist Sidharthan’s art works have often been inspired by his memories of the village and traditional practices such as rearing cattle and animals.
Born at Kilimanoor, the artist was always fascinated by the scenic beauty he found in his surroundings. He has been doing paintings for 30 years. Sidharthan says, “As I was interested in drawing, my teachers always encouraged me. To learn more about art, I used to visit palaces here.”
To harness his skills better, Sidharthan decided to join the Fine Arts College to give a new direction to his passion.
In his onging solo exhibition at Indriyam Art Gallery, Mattancherry , 20 paintings based on the theme of nature and different varieties of trees have been displayed which the artist associates with the life of human beings. Beautiful images of birds painted in colours of blue and yellow sitting on trees painted in bright green colour add liveliness to his paintings. “ I have always taken art seriously and in my paintings I have tried to bring out the visuals of events we are closely connected with,” said Sidharthan. Though the most common medium is acrylic in his paintings, he has also used mediums like charcoal and oil.
His other works include a series titled ‘Papaya series’ where he has depicted different types of papaya trees. These images are symbolic as the artist has tried to bring out the existence of human lives with the help of trees. It also tries to portray how the landscape is getting lost due to the overuse of resources and with the advancement of technology. Even a coconut tree with its flowers and leaves are a regular presence in his paintings. “I like to draw a sequence of the images,” he said. In one of his paintings, there is an image of the mountains. There is a big hole in the middle depicting that many things in nature are being destroyed.
He has participated in more than 50 exhibitions across Kerala as well as in Coimbatore, Chennai, Bengaluru. This is Sidharthan’s eighth solo exhibition. For his work, he has received the State Award from Kerala Lalitha Kala Academi in 2007. The exhibition will continue till November 10.