Art casts the net: Many artists shift base online as COVID-19 continues to rage
"I didn’t paint the war,” Pablo Picasso said after the liberation of France.
“But there’s no doubt the war was in my pictures.”
From painting about their worries to showcasing the world at large in these difficult times, artists today are helping to unite the world and provide some sort of escape to many in solitude.
Even as public spaces lie ignored and closed to the world, each day more and more artists are coming forward to claim the world digitally.
A group of six artists from Kerala brought together a project that features a compilation of 10 works from each. It was recently released on social media platforms. A group exhibition is also on the cards at the Kottayam public library art gallery post-lockdown.
Kottayam-based artist TR Udayakumar says that the closure of art galleries since the pandemic hit triggered them to think about going digital. “I have completed around 20 paintings during the period, of which some are related to the coronavirus issue,” he says.
Working preferably with acrylic, Udayakumar also uses water colour at times. From his recent works, he has a special space for one that portrays a mask-clad man sitting in isolation on a wall clock. His works are a reflection of the days where time stands still and all human activity freezes. The 54-year-old says, “All our plans were based on the concept of time. That is how we moved forward. Now, we are out of engagements.”
For Delhi-based artist PG Dinesh, it was the plight of migrant labourers forced to leave for their homes on foot, craving safety and food, which drew him to the canvas in these times. Given that he stays close to the highway and was a regular witness to the haunting images of migrants on foot in the scorching Delhi heat, it was no surprise that he took to sketching about the common man’s life in the capital city. Owing to scarcity of materials, Dinesh uses pen and pencil to develop a form of minimal art which he calls ‘Kunjivara’.
“I think this technique also helps to bring out the underlying emotions with intensity. It is simple, hence more enjoyable. There is also an element of drama,” he says. One of his artworks shows a man and his pet, their faces aghast, as if letting out a scream, a depiction of helpless humanity. Dinesh is later planning to launch some of the artworks as an ebook for global viewing.
Thiruvananthapuram-based sculptor V Satheesan, a former art teacher of Kendriya Vidyalaya, who holds the rare honour of being the only sculptor among six Indian artists whose works were on display at the L’Inde Art—Episode I: Home Away From Home at the Foundation Maison de l’Inde, CIUP, Paris, believes that the lockdown hasn’t affected his daily creative routine. Sculpting with bronze and occasionally with beeswax, Satheesan treats art as self-purification. To him the idea of an online exhibition appeared as a rational step forward. “It is a positive trend,” he says.