Geniuses cannot be hidden for a long time. At the slightest opportunity, they start showing their latent talents.
Watching ‘Vibes 2016’, the exhibition of paintings by the residents of Government mental health centre in Kozhikode, one can recognise the hidden geniuses.
The exhibition that started at the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Art Gallery on Saturday features around 50 paintings made by the residents. The intellectuals can read out multitude of hidden meanings in most of these works that may sometimes appear as mere scribbling to the lay man.
Guidance of artist Radhika Manjunath
The paintings are the result of three artistic sessions held at the mental health centre recently under the guidance of artist Radhika Ranjith who guided the artistically oriented residents to create some masterpieces. Some of the paintings are notable for their brilliant use of colour and technique as well as the depth.
It was a team of Compassionate Kozhikode, led by District Collector N.Prashanth that worked behind the presentation of the works in the current format.
This includes providing quirky names to the paintings to branding them with a logo. The logo will be used for future artistic endeavours of the residents of the centre.
“This is a testament that these people are not what the outside world thought them to be. They are often brilliant and the world needs to know that. This exhibition will boost their confidence,” said Dr. N. Rajendran, Superintendent of the Centre.
In fact the centre is planning to take the inmates to visit the art gallery in the coming days as a mode of encouragement. The proceeds from the sale of the paintings will go to the welfare of the patients in the mental health centre.
The exhibition is being organised by Compassionate Kozhikode along with a group of students from Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode.
It concludes on April 6.
