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Photos K. Ananthan

ArtbeatChelian and his works

“I have seen that before”. That is the first thought as you enter the gallery to view the paintings of Chelian. But look again. Mona Lisa smiles at you from several canvasses, but in each, the background varies; it is the Ajanta Ellora frescoes in one, while artwork from the Indus Valley Civilization forms the background of another. In another she appears holding a baby.

“The paintings are familiar, but I have made them my own by adding features, and giving them another dimension,” says Chelian. The artist calls his work “Recreation”. Old masters such as Rembrandt, Da Vinci, and Reuben are ‘recreated’. You can spot them instantly. There is one of St. George slaying the dragon. Only, Chelian has left out the dragon. He says: “That is for each one to decide what his or her dragon is.”

Memories come crowding back, especially if you have been a student of history or art. Apart from the great European masters, there is a series of paintings that have been inspired, says Cherian, from a lesson on the Indus Valley Civilisation in his child’s text book. Remember the dancing girl and the Bull, and the seals of Mohenjo Daro? They acted as a muse to Chelian, and he did an entire series of paintings with those figures. In some of them he has replaced the Mohenjo Daro script with ancient Tamil script, and in a few others, he has painted in other Indian motifs such as the Shivalingam and so on.

Indian art and culture are his inspiration. He has reinterpreted the miniature art of the Mughals on to huge canvasses. Chelian had the poi kal kudirai folk dancers perform for him as he captured the movement, colours and mood on canvas. “I change visual art into a performing art,” he says. He has often turned out paintings during musical performances. Indeed, the strokes of the brush seem to have moved across his canvas to some rhythm. His is a ‘scratchy’ technique. He splashes paint on his canvas and then scrapes in the images. Chelian is a keen art historian, and that becomes obvious as you speak to him about paintings, which period they belonged to and what the social implications of those paintings were. How wonderful it would be if schools invited artists such as Chelian to talk to children about the rich history of art, not only abroad but also in India.

You can see/buy Chelian’s works of art at the Kasthuri Sreenivasan Trust on Avanashi Road till December 2, between 9.30 a.m and 6.30 p.m. For details, call 0422- 2574110

PANKAJA SRINIVASAN

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