‘Interface’, the group show currently on display at the Forum Art Gallery, is a celebration of colour and mythology, with the bovine taking centre stage.
Particularly striking are the bovine sculptures of A.V. Ilango and P. Elanchezhiyan. Ilango’s work is constructed of coat hangers and plastic, depicting the damage to cows who consume carelessly strewn plastics, while Elanchezhiyan’s piece is crafted by painstakingly fusing together hundreds of tiny figurines of gods and goddesses, depicting the sacred nature of the cow.
Shalini Biswajit uses the line as a metaphor in her stylised, minimalistic sculptures of Shiva and Nandi, while Shivarama Chary uses LED lights as well as disused bits and pieces of machinery to craft the bovine.
Adding vibrancy to the show is Biswajit’s first foray into sculpture — a bright blue fibreglass figure of a modern-day Lord Krishna. The medium is different, but the look is the same — a Biswajit cartoon in 3-D, a Krishna with Candy Crush on his phone, a Gita tattoo on his biceps, and a CD and a computer mouse in his hands.
B.O. Sailesh and Thejo Menon create some bright, kitschy magic with their small format paintings. Sailesh explores the interconnectedness of man and animal through yogic poses in a well-conceived collection of square and circular canvases and cushions, while Menon depicts the different vahanas of gods in glowing gold.
Santhosh Kotagiri’s works are flushed in pinks, reds and golds, and awash in fantastical dreamscapes of birds and animals, while Harsha Biswajit’s restrained digital media works explore the position of animals in the environment.
Adding heft to the collection with their signature works are senior Chennai artists K. Muralidharan, S. Nandagopal and C. Douglas, who mix myth, metaphor and poetry in their inimitable style.
The show is on till March 12.
