A wake-up call with colours

V. Bhaskar Das with his paintings exhibited in Kozhikode. Photo: S. Ramesh Kurup

It is largely a collection of paintings that mark something that we do not like to remember, yet cannot help remembering.

‘Remembrance,’ the first solo painting exhibition of artist V. Bhaskar Das, brings to focus some harsh realities that are typical of the Indian society and presents them with a melancholic tone.

There are 25 paintings at the show that started at the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi art gallery on Friday, which are mostly acrylic on canvas while the rest are on paper, using different mediums.

‘Hope against Hope,’ the opening painting at the exhibition, is an ode to windmills, a possible solution to power crisis in Kerala, in the backdrop of the severe drought the State faced last year. ‘Rat Dreams’ are symbolic of the present generation that “carves” into every available space and the effect it may have on future generations.

Gender discrimination Mr. Das has a series of paintings dedicated to the women of the country. ‘Frightening Bubbles’ shows how women are scared of everything and anything while ‘Distorted Self Image’ shows how news distorts one’s image. ‘Watch Dog’ is a reminder that the laws and other agencies that are supposed to protect women are helpless. Another painting shows the ‘Mother Earth Caved In,’ and ‘Unsafe Balancing’ tells us that women are not safe anywhere.

‘Doll for the Fallen Child’ is a dedication to the children who fell into bore-wells and lost their lives.

The exhibition will conclude on February 13.