If you believe in art that is wearable and usable and doesn’t belong only on walls, Kerala mural painter Bhavam Sujith may have exactly what you’re looking for. His creativity and penchant for innovation have urged this artist to fashion everyday objects from bamboo, fabric and canvas. The varied media share a common feature — they are decorated with mural paintings.
A resident of Wayanad, Sujith had a life-changing tryst with art in 2004 when he attended a mural workshop conducted by eminent muralist, G. Bhargavan Azhikode.
Sujith underwent intensive training with the maestro for a year, after which he launched his own art studio Bhavam. “With my wife Pooja who is also a skilled painter, I trained local talent and soon our unit evolved into a cottage industry. We currently provide employment to 20 artisans, of whom 90 per cent are women. We also conduct workshops and summer camps for students.”
With traditional Kerala mural painting adorning the walls of temples and palaces how did the shift to other media such as canvas and bamboo come about?
mural
‘The credit for the innovation goes to my guru, Bhargavan. Constantly experimenting, he refined the process of applying the lime wash base coat on bamboo, to which the traditional pigments firmly adhere. Akin to prepping a wall, the delicate base coat is applied 35 times on the bamboo, each layer having the density of cow’s milk. Its final thickness should be that of a tamarind leaf (puliyilakkanam). An arduous process.’
The iridescent colours never fail to stun — glowing greens, reds and blues on a golden bamboo base. The five basic colours (panchavarna) are yellow, red, green, white and black. White is the colour of the base.
The organic pigments are sourced from minerals, herbs, indigo and carbon soot.
In recent years, acrylic paints have been widely used. Washable objects like coasters are made from acrylic sheet with transfer prints.
Sujith’s piece-de-resistance is a 2.5 foot long bamboo ‘wind flute’ with pierced air holes to produce a whistling sound when twirled.
