In The Republic , Plato uses an allegory of prisoners chained in a cave watching shadows on a wall to suggest that the things we believe are real are often only illusions. Trying to break free from the cave of ignorance and into the light of day is ‘Denude the truth’, a collection of paintings by Alin George.
Although at first, his works seem an ode to man and his gamut of expressions, one soon starts discovering the metaphors behind each image as the artist explains the thoughts behind them.
He points at his ‘Blind Follower’, a painting of two similarly hunched figures walking in the same direction and ‘Denude the truth’, an image of what looks like two people in conversation.
While the former hints at man’s tendency to blindly follow, be it a person or a belief, Alin elaborates on the concept behind the latter. “In a talk show, discussions are futile as the guests on the show are more interested in upholding their point of view rather than opening up their minds and working towards a solution – the truth – as their egos come to fore,” he says.
‘What you see, what you speak,’ hints at how people often do not see the “whole picture” before they start talking about it, while ‘Be yourself’ urges people to try and stay true to themselves.
‘Hope’, a canvas in bright red and a circle in black and white, stands out from amongst the line up of Alin’s paintings. Says Alin: “It’s that silver lining in the sky; it’s my journey in life culminating in hope.”
‘Denude the truth’ is Alin’s debut exhibition. A mathematics graduate and an IT professional, the self-taught artist has used geometric shapes and colours such as red, black and white to bring his canvases alive. “My works are a reflection of what I have seen and experienced in life. Some are a dig at people and society who often turn a blind eye to the truth,” says Alin, who was inspired to pick up the brush after a meeting with artist Sajitha Shankar. “I met her at an exhibition and we have been interacting since. She introduced me to the world of colours and shapes.”
The exhibition was held at Vyloppilly Samskriti Bhavan.
