Coimbatore:The majestic peacock is a recurring motif in artist Manickavachagam’s abstract work. The national bird takes on black, red and blue colours and merges into feminine forms in the paintings that are currently displayed at Kasthuri Sreenivasan Trust Art Gallery. “In our Indian mythology, there are many references to these birds being loved, nurtured and protected by women. I have applied the same concept in my paintings,” he says.
An Egyptian woman holds aloft a number of birds in a painting. “Women are always giving and are forerunners as protectors of the universe, which also includes our winged friends,” says Manickavachagam, who teaches visual arts at National Institute of Technology in Trichy.
While some of the paintings reflect earthy colours, others burst with the freshness of green, orange, blue and red. “It easily takes about 20 years to study the character of every single colour and achieve a fine mix of colours in a composition. I have used blue colour schemes, oranges and reds in abstract form.”
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He calls his collection ‘God’s particle’. He explains how a dot on his canvas evolves into beautiful stories as it takes on various forms and shapes. “The dot encompasses within it all living forms, birds, butterflies, insects, plants… and drives the message of conservation,” he says. The exhibition is a part of the Impressionist 2015 series. Manickavachagam says art should be open for experimentation.
“It has to evolve with time. My works are contemporary. Yet, in some of the paintings I have depicted the hairstyles of women that merge with the plumage of peacock plumage in art nouveau form. In one of the paintings, a woman sings, the music is replicated in the music of chirping of birds and grace of dance in their movement.”
His ‘fragmentism’ series combines ink work with abstract human forms, postures, and movement of human body. “I admire human forms. There is so much grace and aesthetics even in the shape of a little finger.”
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Manickavachagam has spent 40 years in art and he is from Udumalpet near Coimbatore. He retraces the journey and says: “My father, S. Ponnusamy, a goldsmith and also an mridangam vidwan introduced me to art. He would draw a parrot on the floor and teach me the basics. He used clay and modelled birds and animals to teach shapes. After my education, though I landed up a job in the telephone department, I took leave for five years, and enrolled at the College of Fine Arts, and took off on my journey.”
His water collection series captures simple pleasures of life. There are portraits of women from Kashmir, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat; paintings of village life, innocence of life captured in smiles, and scenes of an art teacher giving a demo, drawn form his own experience of taking his students to nearby villages in Trichy. There are messages too. A portrait of girl titled ‘Am I safe?’ is a reminder of the growing atrocities of women. “I use art to register and document what is happening around me,” he says. “I teach art but am still learning every day.”
The artists works are available for sale and he can be contacted at 98940-50696. The exhibition is on at the Gallery till February 1 between 10 a.m. and 6.30 p.m.