Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

India through Japanese eyes

Photo: S.Thanthoni

Japanese artist Koichi Ishiodori at work in Chennai on Friday. —

CHENNAI: The colours and motifs of India sit lightly within the works of Koichi Ishiodori that were on display at the ABK-AOTS Dosokai on Nelson Manickam Road on Friday. The typically Japanese technique with traditional, flat colours he employs gives his scenes of daily life in Rajasthan an ethereal, fragile quality.

A woman reaching to fasten the harness on a camel, a nomadic group heading west, three women carrying water pots — all seem to shimmer in the desert air. Even the bright reds of their clothes are subdued into a strange harmony with the browns and greys of the desert.

The motifs of Indian traditional art fill the backgrounds of some paintings, depicting a sole human figure lost in contemplation or some activity. This figure never looks back at the viewer and has a meditative quality, suffused with serenity that fills the artist’s other works. Also on display were his paintings where lone flowers or fruit baskets are the only splashes of colour on white, handmade paper.The artist’s recent visit to Kancheepuram and Mahabalipuram has provided material for more work, as he is fascinated by the depiction of human beings in sculpture. After adding finishing touches to a sketch of a sculpture of a woman, he reflects on what brings him back to India repeatedly. “I once saw the sun setting and the moon rising at the same time in Aurangabad,” he recalls, “I want to see that again.” He has come to the country some 30 times since his first visit in 1974 and has trained in Shantiniketan to produce Indian miniature paintings on a Japanese Government fellowship. He has illustrated the Japanese translation of Satyajit Ray’s writing for children.

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