In July, as monsoons lashed Kolkata with a rhythmic beat of intermittent showers visitors to Birla Academy of Art and Culture were greeted by the rapturous opening of the show “The Shadows of Absence” by artist Tom Vattakuzhy in his first ever solo exhibition in India presented by The Institute of Contemporary Indian Art (ICIA), with the support of AstaGuru. Visitors were transported to a mystical realm that was transcendental and tranquil. All of the artist’s sixteen works depicted a suburban agrarian setting where the characters in a family unit seemed drenched in the routine life and its existential duties in soft settings that stirred a distinctive narrative like episodic reels of a celluloid.
The art was just not about the subjects in their aesthetic details but seemed to be woven by a soft thread of subdued whispers. The mood and gentle strokes in Vattakuzhy’s works invokes stories laced by simplicity, austerity, religiosity, and with an undeniable charm of a regional flavor of his native Kerala and the overarching challenges of swiftly shifting social equations within the family members. Through the characters’ portrayal one gets a fragrance of his inherent and deep engagement with his familiar settings with a poetic touch of humility, empathy, divinity and ethereal elegance that is hard to miss. Tom Vattakuzhy’s skill and magic in his painted narratives perhaps lie in his practice of embracing light as a poignant tool that enriches his visual language and manages to change the tide and turn of his art imagery.
His fascination with light strangely began by his morbid fear for the dark as a boy when he lived a solitary life being naturally withdrawn. Dark spaces and the night were discomforting to him and he constantly sought refuge in a ray of light perhaps to be rescued from the unknown and unseen. Often, asked by his parents to watch over harvested grains laid out for drying from prying eyes of fauna around, he sat watching, becoming mindful and intrigued by the sun and the shadows it left by its absence. From that innocuous practice, possibly his first notions of light and shade got germinated which later surfaced as the fabric of truth and currency of his aesthetic formulations and eventual practice.
Delving into his work individually brings out his background in illustration, and his deep bonds with his earthy roots, human values and bondages, unveiling his philosophical inner world and capacity to look beyond the apparent. While the characters appear strangely familiar and relatable their special arrangement and placements conceal elements of disenchantment, of solitude, of silences and unspoken longings subtlety expressed with his muted palette which lends a very pleasing touch to the imagery making it a very personal experience for each viewer. Curated by eminent art historian Prof. R. Siva Kumar, the exhibition for the Kerala based artist was a long awaited homecoming having spent his early years in Santiniketan which left an indelible imprint in his psyche and shaped his artistic journey.
Reminiscing of the slow languid pace of life in Vishwa Bharati like sipping tea, he fondly recalled unforgettable snippets of moments spent under the tutelage of masters like K.G. Subramanyan and Somnath Hore. Their individual styles and perceptions were wonderful stimulants that drove and shaped his thoughts and concepts of space and style that set an early foundation for his walk and enchantment towards art. While the former was a humble master who considered art being all about finding a personal ladder the latter was steadfast in his deep humanism and simplicity where art was considered as an extension of the self. Vattakuzhy holds art as a personal language which he feels should be oblivious to surrounding noise and rush of trend and style. His education period was at a time of transition from modern to postmodern practice. Finding one’s own way and searching your own path is what an artist should do feels the artist. In his journey Vattakuzhy like many of his ilk tried many explorations, engaged with discourses and experiments including seeking solitude. Along the way he admits that a large facet of art development is about learning and relearning. Art should be about a personal voice, about being grounded and a soul song. Perched on this philosophy his paintings remain a timeless suspension at times with a charming luminescence and a restrained style where the real and the surreal coexist in a spiritual and mystical blend. As we progressively inch towards a landscape of concept notes and ambitious digital disruptions, his work reaffirms and reminds that art is about the self, the soul and the quiet moorings that allow us to pause and reflect with a gentle lyricism to echo the thought that art thrives best when told from the heart. Art has to be courageous and be a distinct voice. “Home is where you can be your natural self, unmasked, exposed and wearing its true face. My works were not about the artistic aesthetics but about the stories in them. This show had to be in my motherland as that’s where I come from and it’s my home, expresses the artist with a wistful smile.
The writer is a freelance contributor