‘The transparent soul’ laid bare at Kerala painters’ Delhi show

Delhi was in for a treat as Dravidam, Vision from South India, showcased the works of well-known artist Suresh Muthukulam and Suresh Pushpangathan, who are both from Kerala. Titled “Thumbi and Thamara: The Transparent Soul”, which means dragonfly and lotus in Malayalam, the show exhibits paintings that show the metamorphosis of these powerful symbols. The dragonfly is associated with transformation and the lotus is considered pure and sacred. This fusion of both on one canvas compels the viewers for a metaphysical interpretation. The dragonfly with its spirit of transformation hovers over the lotus representing the soul.

Muthukulam is a well-known senior artist, trained in the Kerala mural technique under one of the finest gurus, the late Krishnakutty Nair, in Guruvayur. His deep-rooted connection with mythology leads him to interpret the theme for the show from a mythical context. Muthukulam weaves the two symbols into the lives and landscape of everyday life in his Kuttanad village. We have Mithunam (acrylic on canvas) where a girl is standing in the balcony of her two-storey country house and, in the courtyard, her beloved, almost like Krishna, is falling on his back into the green marshes full of blooming lotuses. ‘Mithunam’ is a month in the Malyalam calendar and it also means ‘a couple’. The plush greenery around shows the very nature of love and life — all enriching and full of energy — while white and blue lotuses depict spring or creativity or the very life force.

Then there’s Kuttanadan Chundan, which shows the famous Kerala snake boat race, with two snake boats moving in the ethereal green with lotuses in full bloom. Aattuvela I, II and III use the motif brilliantly as it shows Muthukulam’s interpretation of the grandiose water carnival. The paintings also include mixed media on rice paper. And the exhibition also has screens and wooden boxes. My favourite is the screen titled “Thumbi”, which uses vitriol colour on acrylic sheet, teak frame and a copper steel base. It shows the dragonfly in green, blue and hues of orange with huge hibiscus flowers. The colours come out brilliantly as one can literally feel the insect staring at you. “I am trying to mix the subject and style to bring out the amalgamation of the Kerala style of mural paintings with contemporary forms,” says Muthukulam. He uses his intuition and allows the colours and strokes to take charge.

Muthukulam is at ease on canvas as well as on rice paper, and even silk. His work stands out and there’s little wonder that many of his paintings were already sold by the second day of the exhibition.

Jaya Mani of Dravidam says, “Muthukulam is a very senior traditional artist and he is deft at fusing his insipid roots with the contemporary... for instance, a taadi tapper in Muthukulam’s paintings becomes almost like Krishna, and it is the expertise and experience of an artist like Muthukulam that can put mythology in the modern-day setting with such ease.”

If some of the works show the experience of an artist who is doing his 11th show in Delhi, we also have Pushpangathan, whose paintings are based on nature, again on Thumbi and Thamara.

His paintings are “Little Wings”, which shows tiny buds of lotus about to bloom. Then there’s “Awakening”, a picture of a light green lotus and a tiny red bud mushrooming in a swamp. “Aambal” has the symbol lotus in blue. Pushpnagathan is inspired by the play of light and its ever-changing hues evoke the comparison to changing human moods and emotions.

Through his deft and sensitive strokes, he captures the interplay of light and colour. “For me, this exhibition shows the transparency of the lotus flower... it is our journey. That somewhere we have our childhood memoirs, yet we are super-realistic. It is in between the real and the abstract,” elucidates Pushpangathan who was very excited to get a warm welcome from Delhi.

He worked in the oil medium but has now moved to acrylic and is enjoying it. “The medium is no longer the barrier... and the response is equally wonderful. It’s very encouraging.”