The most recent visitor to La Gallery 360 at Museum Bains Compound is Vengatesh B., an artist hailing from a village called Seliamedu, near Pondicherry.
The gallery’s walls proudly testify to Vengatesh’s skills as they display the many canvases containing his work, as part of an exhibition aptly titled ‘This Side of Paradise’. Speaking to the artist is an uncomplicated affair. There is no sense of talking to someone who sees the world any differently than the average person on the street. He does not feel the need to come across as a thinker or philosopher, perhaps a result of his peaceful upbringing in the village that is home to around 200 people. “The village is very close to my heart. As a child I used to spend my time herding goats and soaking in the isolated surroundings, which gave me plenty of sights to take in and recreate on canvas later,” says Vengatesh.
After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in fine arts, he took up painting in earnest and has not looked back since, allowing his brush to flow freely and create tapestries of the places he visits, and the people who inspire him, like his wife and Michael Jackson. He keeps it simple as he describes his craft. “I do not go about my work with much predetermination. Each painting tells a different story and has different inspirations. Some are finished in a matter of days, while others take up to three months, and I always prefer working at night. Also, my childhood is an integral part of me, and I try to show traces of it in my works.”
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As his friend and fellow artist Ezhilarasan puts it, “his works are sprinkled with the secrets of thousands of such villages that dot the countryside of the nation.”
The canvas is where Vengatesh truly reveals himself. He may be a man of few words, but his brushstrokes are anything but quiet. Colours flow across depictions of him as a youth herding a goat, his wife combing her hair, with shades of village life painting the background, Michael Jackson in his early years and then performing at his prime, and an image of a ‘koothu’ (street play) in progress. Each has an inspiration behind it and is fleshed out by glimpses of the things that mean the most to him.
According to Vengatesh, art is as important to humanity as the sciences, and choosing it as a means to pay the bills was a simple decision. “I started painting at a young age, and then moved on to working on signboards and the like by the time I finished class 10. But I only started out professionally when I was completing my undergraduate degree in fine arts. My parents did not have a problem with it, they just told me to do whatever I wanted, and it has worked out pretty well,” says the artist who has successfully held exhibitions in Pondicherry, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Mumbai.
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That the success he has experienced has not dulled his passion in the slightest is evident from the excitement in his voice as he speaks about the future. “There are still so many things I have to learn. If you keep doing the same thing over and over, it gets boring, no matter how much you love it. I plan to keep trying new things on the canvas. Recently, I have started experimenting with darker shades, and one day I may even try my hand at abstract,” he says with a smile.
Does he plan to move to a city and branch out, perhaps have his own gallery someday? “Oh! No. I have found that I am at my best when I am home in my village. When I venture outside, I feel like I cannot paint the same. And I do not think I will ever try anything beyond what I already do, I plan to remain an artist,” he concludes.
The exhibition is on till October 31.