Portrait of an Artist as a Historian
- Sivaram Srikandath
Story Dated: Monday, December 5, 2011 16:12 hrs IST
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Colonial Sisters (Black Ink on paper)
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1 - 2
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Colonial Kingdom (Black Ink on paper)
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2 - 2
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Last Sunday, on the 27th of November, the Durbar Hall Kalakendram of the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi was dedicated to the nation by Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy at a simple ceremony held in Cochin. The renovation of the Durbar Hall was undertaken by the Kochi Biennale Foundation at a cost of Rs. 3.5 crore, as part of the Foundation's efforts to put in place a world class art gallery for the prestigious Biennale. The Kochi-Muzirius Biennale, the brainchild of a group of artistes spearheaded by Bose Krishnamachari and Riyaz Komu, is scheduled to kick off next year, and the people behind the project are working around the clock to ensure that at long last, an Indian edition of the Biennale, which is widely regarded to be the best exposition of contemporary art in the world, becomes a reality.
The renovated Kalakendram is a cheerful place, pleasantly laid out. It has six separate gallery spaces, and world-class lighting and air-conditioning. The gallery is bright and airy and is a welcome oasis of quiet in the midst of the bustling city. The renovation has been carried out by a team from Mumbai, with considerable experience in heritage conservatiion. Naturally, local artistes are excited that finally, the state has a world class art gallery in which to display their works. My friend Bara Bhaskaran, insisted that I visit the gallery to see an exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Kerala artistes. The exhibition has been organized by the Kerala Lalitha Kala Akademi as part of the inaugural festivities and Bhaskaran has two of his recent works displayed there.
It is evident that the current exhibition has been put together rather hurriedly. The show is non curated, and has no clear theme. But it serves the function of showcasing the works of most of the notable names in the current generation of Kerala artistes. The exhibition is also a good opportunity to see how the gallery functions in its new avatar.
I am particularly impressed by the two works of Bhaskaran on display at the gallery. The artist has recently completed the two drawings, and this is first time he is exhibiting them to the public. The works are large - 110 cms by 75 cms - black ink on paper sketches, densely packed with detail. One is titled Colonial Kingdom and the other is called Colonial Sisters. They are complementary in nature, and reflect the artist's abiding interest in the history of Kerala's architecture as well as his ongoing engagement with the politics of dispossession and subjugation.
Bhaskaran is actively involved in archiving the traditional (but sadly disappearing) architecture of Kerala, and its history, and has been chronicling the subject through a regular column called Ente Keralam Rekhakal for the literary magazine, Bhashaposhini. As an artist, he believes that it is only through a study of history that the present can be be accessed and understood properly. Naturally, there is a sub-text of history running through all his works. He is also engaged in the study of tribal life in the Wayanad district of Northern Kerala, focusing on the subaltern status of tribals in our society. Dispossession and marginalization are prominent themes in his works.
The drawing Colonial Sisters was inspired, he said, by the history of the Attingal Palace, and in particular by the story of the Attingal Ranis, two sisters who were adopted in the 14th century AD from the royal family of the Kolathiris in North Malabar, by the then ruler of Travancore, Udaya Marthanda Varma. Bhaskaran has cleverly placed a picture of one of the Ranis of Attingal, originally published in the Hortus Malabaricus (a compendium of the medicinal properties of flora in Kerala compiled by Hendrik van Rheede who was Governor of Dutch Malabar during the latter part of the 17th century) in his drawing as a referential device to connect the viewers with the colonial history of our state. Sadly, the Attingal Palace, which played a significant role in the growth of the Travancore dynasty, today serves as a marriage auditorium, rues Bhaskaran.
The artist's obsession with history is also seen in the drawing Colonial Kingdom. Here, a native king (whose body is interestingly coloured black) is sitting on a throne in a dense,thick and almost, primordial forest. Bhaskaran seems to be having fun with himself as he plays around with various elements in the drawings - be it the king who is seated in front of a manual Remington Rand typewriter (the memo in the typewriter carrying the order Do Not Enter) which he says was the primary tool for the Colonial rulers to dictate orders to their native subjects for compliance; or the images of the dark and brooding forest that is filled with sinuous roots and vines entwined in phallic musculature and vigour, pulsing as it were, for release; or the columns of the palace sketched out like the legs of a voluptuous siren waiting in supplication for her master to arrive.
I asked Bhasharan whether this sensuous imagery is intentional, or merely accidental. "That is for the viewer to decide," he smiled mischeivously. "Reproduction, fecundity, renewal of life - these are all the basic themes of humanity. And a forest is symbolic of these aspects of nature ......... the function of all art is to take local and particular issues and concerns and place them into a larger context of universal truths and questions. An artist's job," he said, "is to constantly question; to push the envelope."
Wish you all the best, Bhaskaran, in your endeavour.
