Each of the 100-plus paintings and sculptures tells a story – of grit, talent and determination to fight the odds. ‘Eloquent Expressions’, an art exhibition and sale by Art-Kerala, a new art ensemble comprising six Fine Arts graduates of National Institute of Speech and Hearing (NISH), is a melange of themes and styles. Right from colourful abstracts and scenic landscapes to realistic works of blossoms and art forms of Kerala, the display vividly showcases the artistic acumen of the artists.
Their exhibition, which began its maiden show on January 6 at the YMCA Library (previously the British Council Library), also has some fine pieces in fibre glass that depict man’s bond with nature and environment. The eternal conflict between nature and nurture has been moulded into evocative pieces.
For the last six months, these artists have been working without a break at a small house in a bylane in Jawahar Nagar. “We have individual styles and all of us, except Animon are classmates. He is a year junior to us,” says Abin Pious George, who acts as an interpreter, as he can hear partially. But the communication is fast and furious as Lekshmi Raghavan and Parvathy Raghavan lip read and, keeping an eye to track the conversation, move their fingers at lighting speed to convert words into signs that make statements, questions and answers.
The animated conversation explains the inspiration behind the work and how it was translated on canvas or fibreglass. Rathish R. is the prolific artist with more than 50 works to his credit. His oeuvre includes acrylics that freeze on the canvas the dynamics of Kathakali and Theyyam. Three of his landscapes capture the palette of orange, red and yellow that /portray the varied shades of twilight. Even the grass and the plants in the paintings are imbued by the glow of dusk.
Subhash Viswan’s and Animon’s affinity for nature is clear in the pieces they have made. Every sculpture highlights the deep and vital link between man and nature, and shows how upsetting that fine equilibrium spells disaster for mankind. Subhash’s and Animon’s eyes light up watching the expressions of spectators seeing their works for the first time. As he speaks furiously in sign language, his colleagues interpret it for sign-language-disabled people.
Animon’s gifted fingers have also made several pieces of the ‘laughing Buddha’, which Feng Shui believers treasure as harbingers of luck. While the sculptures convey a thousand meanings in one work of art, the paintings evoke different moods. If Abin’s colourful abstracts explore the world in confident whorls of colours that exude vitality and optimism, Lekshmi’s and Parvathy’s abstracts in vibrant colours seem to be spilling out of the canvas to catch the eye. What is interesting about these pieces is that all of them will sit cosily on your tables or work spaces. In fact this exhibition is also an introduction to affordable art for our homes. The paintings and sculpted pieces have been priced between Rs. 1,500 and 3,500.
“This is only a beginning. We hope to have a full-scale high-end exhibition a few months from now. Our plan is to get corporate bodies to give the commissioned works. Almost all these organisations give corporate gifts. Now, if they were to give an idea to this team, they would develop it, fine tune it, get the approval at every stage and then get it done,” explains a spokesperson for Art-Kerala.
There is laughter and hope as they sign off to prepare for the exhibition. These paintings and sculptures might have been created from the depths of silence but they surely speak volumes about the artists and their vision. The exhibition concludes on January 10.
