There’s something grounding about water. Even when it vanishes, it leaves traces in air, soil, and memory. At the exhibition Red Earth and Pouring Rain, the works on display don’t shout for attention. Instead, they ripple gently, urging us to pause to remember what we have overlooked.
Curated by Sundar Kaali, Nina Sabnani, and Shrilekha Sikander, the exhibition is anchored in two elemental ideas: earth and water. But it’s not a literal theme—it’s a metaphor for memory and entanglement. “Red Earth and Pouring Rain is a term borrowed from Sangam literature,” says Sundar.
Sundar leads the Red Earth section, which brings together five artists from Madurai—each deeply rooted in the city’s long, under-recognised tradition of contemporary art. “Madurai has a very vibrant art movement. Right from the 40s, we’ve had generations of painters and sculptors—many of them self-taught, with no formal training, working with rigour and imagination. But for decades, there was no exhibition space in the city. It was only in the 90s that this began to change,” explains Sundar.
He adds, “Red Earth can be referred to the black cotton soil—as a connecting element for this kind of work and movements in Madurai.”
This layered history comes through in the artworks of the five artists displayed at the exhibit. These artists include MG Raffic Ahamed, M Saravanan, S James Peter, Logu Ramasamy, and Madurai K Babu.
Each artist carries Madurai’s spirit, not as nostalgia, but as living memory. “Each of them has a unique voice, a style that stands on its own,” says Sundar.
Across the gallery, the Pouring Rain section, co-curated by Nina Sabnani and Shrilekha Sikander, contrasts this solidity with fluidity. Nina’s animated film Fleeting Moments, built from Shrilekha’s watercolours, plays on loop, which she describes as an homage to the ever-changing sea. “The idea is to give autonomy to the viewer. The sea never looks the same twice. The film isn’t about endings, it’s about being present in the rhythm,” Nina explains.
Her acrylic aquarium boxes continue this theme of viewer interaction. “The viewer can decide what it becomes,” she says. “It’s fragile. It’s vulnerable.”
What unites these two distinct sections is not medium or message, but a shared tenderness—a slow insistence on noticing. “We are all looking at things that are transitory, that are momentary,” Nina reflects.
On till September 14. Entry with museum tickets. 10 am to 6 pm (Monday to Friday), 10 am to 7 pm (weekends). At Varija Gallery, DakshinaChitra Museum.
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