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Unfettered creativity on canvas

— Photo: S.K. Mohan

DIFFERENT STROKES: Chandini Santosh with her paintings at the Town Hall in Kannur.

She may not be academically trained in the subtleties of art, but her paintings are creative expressions unfettered by any notion of stylistic identity or characteristics. Each of her works, therefore, is different and has no artistic contiguity.

The paintings of Chandini Santosh are being exhibited at the Town Hall here from Friday. Each work differs from the other either in theme, medium or treatment. Many of the 75 paintings on display are eloquent, without use of glaring colours. Her paintings are often an extension of her poems published in two collections – ‘Time Series’ and ‘Voyage Series.’

The three-day exhibition, organised by the Multi-Medial Artists’ Forum, has on display works done over the past few years and reflecting her personal struggles and experiences.

“I don’t know what prompted me to start painting and when I started painting, I found myself doing it without any exertion,” Ms. Santosh said. She started painting as a diversion from writing. She uses different mediums including oil, charcoal, crayons and even ball-point pens. “Her paintings as well as her poems are her way of creatively encountering her personal experiences and struggles,” artist K.K. Marar, who inaugurated the exhibition, says. She is at home with charcoal, the oldest medium, to the ball-point pen, the latest, he said, adding that she had found her own medium.

Some of the paintings are portraits, including those based on the powerful women characters in Orhan Pamuk’s novels ‘My Name is Red’ and ‘Black.’ Flowers and slanted trees appear to be a favourite theme, found in a few of the paintings. A painting of empty tables and chairs in a coffee house stands out.

The inauguration was attended by P.S. Karunakaran, P. Sharatchandran and Eby N. Joseph, among other painters. S.N. College English Department Head N. Sajan, the former municipal chairperson M.C. Sreeja and Latha Chandradeep offered felicitations.

Shelvan Melur of the Multi-Media Artists’ Forum was present.

Mohamed Nazeer

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