Our mind stores all the adventures that we go through in our lives. While some of us keep it to ourselves, others love to portray it through some or the other art form. Such is the story of this Kerala-based artist Midhun Gopi who presents his imaginative adventures through his artworks which depict a few scenes from places he has been to during his journey. CE speaks to the artist behind the artwork Lethe: Poetry of Hidden Rivers, curated by Ruchi Sharma - they are on display at the Kalakirti Art Gallery, Banjara Hills Rd No 4, till May 8.
Midhun studied BFA at the University of Calicut, Kerala and pursued a Master’s in Fine Arts and Painting at the University of Hyderabad. After his course, he stayed back in the city for almost a year and then moved to Delhi, before shifting to Mumbai where he studied another course on Modern and Contemporary art at Bhau Daji Lad Museum. “Just after that, came the Covid pandemic. During the time, I worked on some special artwork that is on display here. Soon, I will be taking up a study programme in the UK. I wanted to do this show before I leave for the course. The city of Hyderabad is so close to my city, I didn’t know of a better place to put up my first solo exhibition.”
Midhun describes his art as a representation of momentary thoughts and materials. “There is a sense of randomness in every artwork of mine - I used trees, blades, a cat, a soul and even plastic bags. Each art piece has something hidden inside and that makes it even more interesting. I leave it to an individual’s mindset to introspect my work.”
Some of the art pieces showcase the life he experienced as a bachelor in Hyderabad, like the cooker titled Mrs Mary, a tower that has peacocks sitting atop it and a pan with an egg on it, resembling an explosion.
The artist uses a lot of red and blue shades in his artwork. He explains, “These two colours represent the way we look at things in life and also because it explains the theme better.
I also experiment using multiple layers of colour. Patchworks are another favourite style of mine. I used watercolours and played with hues of red and blue. I also attempted natural detailing to a few by adding a leaf to a piece that I found in an old book at a book store.”