The recently inaugurated G Memorial, in memory of poet G Sankara Kurup, an exhibition is under way featuring the works of contemporary women painters of Kerala. The nuanced works by late T K Padmini, Sajitha R Shankar, Rathi Devi Panicker, Anuradha Nalapat, Victoria Charles, Radha Gomaty, Lekha Narayanan, Sara Hussain, Niljeena Neelambaram, Sindu Divakaran, Ponmani Thomas and 15 others adorn the walls of the museum designed by architect Gopakumar.
The frames created using mixed media like watercolour, acrylic and even mobile application exude multiple perspectives in varied hues, reflecting strong expressions of society, mysteries of a woman’s body and even surrealism. The exhibition curated by artist Bindhi Rajagopal, features almost 70 works and the initiative celebrates the stories of women artists from all walks of life. According to the curator, all the works are based on the theme Ormayude Olangalil.
Late T K Padmini, during her short period of life, has managed to leave an indelible mark of her personality on Indian painting. Her works mostly reflect the perspectives of women and their priorities. Two of her paintings, titled Nilavu and Pattam Parathunna Penkutty carrying the serene imagery of village life are exhibited at the show. Sajitha’s paintings explore the myths and mysteries of the female body while breaking the shackles of patriarchial definitions and power.
Whereas Anuradha’s Alice Out of Wonderland, explores the words and violence hidden in nursery rhymes. Radha Gomati treads the path of mobile app drawings, emphasising texts and black ink. Artists like Sreeja Pallam, Sara Hussain, Babitha Rajeev and Jayasree P G have brought myriad emotions and even kept their hands on surrealism in acrylic.
In addition to this, some artists chose not to wield a paintbrush, they conveyed ideas through distinct mediums. Sabitha Kadannappaly has experimented with installations using fibre and paper. Sruthi Sivakumar has put up work on paper pulp embossing. Curator of the show Bindhi and artist Celin Jacob V have exhibited sculpture installation art.
The exhibition will conclude on February 14.