KOZHIKODE: Those cries reverberating in the back of his mind have resulted in several sleepless nights for artist V. Mohanan. The cries of little girls who were raped by their near and dear ones; cries of farmers who lost everything to nature; cries of the elderly who were abandoned by their children; cries of families who lost their loved ones to the faulty system.... The cries never sleep.
‘Urangatha Nilavilikal’, an exhibition of paintings by V. Mohanan that began at the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Art Gallery in Kozhikode on October 25, is a reflection of feelings of despair and helplessness faced by the artist at various stages of life as he came across griefs.
There are around 100 paintings that look colourful but with an underlying layer of darkness. “Despite the despair, there is always hope for a better tomorrow, and that is exactly what I intend to show,” said the artist.
It is hard to call Mr. Mohanan’s works paintings. They are mostly graphic art with a touch of the brush above the canvass. “There is no point in spending a lot of time and energy on these images when I can present the basic idea through graphic. Then I find something missing in the graphic, and I add it,” he said, adding that graphic was equally satisfying.
The exhibition is accompanied by a series of programmes including a music concert, discussions on topics like ‘art and politics’ and ‘art in the 70s’ and documentary screenings. The exhibition will conclude on Sunday.
