Kerala-based artist Tensing Joseph believes that no individual today is free from the surveillance of the State and confidential reports are an encroachment on his/her liberty. He uses these reports as a metaphor in his paintings and drawings that are now on display at his ongoing exhibition at Triveni Arts Gallery here.
“Confidential Reports: The First Blueprints of War” showcases the recent works of Joseph, who is a professor of sculpture at the College of Fine Arts, Kerala.
“As a teacher I don't get the creative space to express my views about various issues affecting the society. Some of our leading artists like M. F. Husain are facing discrimination. Tragically Husain is facing cultural fascism in his own motherland,” he says.
Joseph says he is against acquisition of weapons of mass destruction. Through his works he warns art lovers about an impending crackdown on humanity by the cruel authorities who produce these weapons and their effects.
“War is everywhere, it takes place in private and public realms. Confidential reports are created to subjugate people and the same information data is used to colonise not only the bodies but also the minds of people. Colonisation has a new meaning now. It is less painful and more lucrative. Confidential reports make the colonisation process more subtle,” says curator Johny M. L.
Joseph was trained to become a full-fledged sculptor from Santiniketan but he gradually drifted to painting.
The current exhibition that opened on March 17 is open for viewing up to this Thursday.
