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Lakshmi Srinath continues her artistic journey with conviction in her muse
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Photo: M. Karunakaran
MULTIPLE RENDERINGS OF FAITH Lakshmi’s (right) works are an extension of her life and beliefs
‘Stunning’ was the word I overheard as I looked at the paintings on display, and stunning they definitely are! Not just the paintings that is, but the sculptures and the textile art on show too. Lakshmi Srinath continues her artistic journey with conviction in her muse, namely her faith, and her works displayed at the Forum art gallery exude her mounting confidence as an artist. Following an education in Fine Arts at Stella Maris College and having gained much under the tutelage of artist A.V. Ilango who remains her mentor in her artistic journey, Lakshmi seems to have landed firmly on her feet today proving her ability to take on newer media, thereby expanding, and in the process exploring, her expression.
It is said that the best expressions come from one’s own experience. Lakshmi’s works are constructed around the symbolism of the faith that she has grown up with, that which she lives with everyday. Her works mirror the intense colours that surround her – turmeric yellow and kumkum red emphasised by a rich grey-black, and sometimes set off by brilliant cerulean blue. The symbolism in these vivid colours is authenticated by the textured wood that forms the support of the paintings and the roughly chiselled granite of her sculptures. The shifting planes created by canvas mounted on different heights of wood generate three dimensional illusions which in their advancing and receding reverberate with the energy expected from the portrayal of Shiva and Shakti.
Textile art in the form of the sari ensemble, hung as it is, each like a painting on the gallery walls may be viewed as an extension of her persona, and indeed the concept that grounds her art. Their allusion to the acrylic paintings on wood that they take their inspiration from is significant. Aptly titled ‘Sutra: Triadic Expressions’, these multiple renderings on a singular theme — on canvas, stone and textile, are clearly sited in the traditional South Indian religious principles that have transcended beyond the confines of religious practice to become a way of life. The age-old representations that formed the focus of devout reverence have been pushed beyond the notion of the popular aesthetic and have found a new avatar in having contemporaneously morphed into symbolic images, elegant drapery and installation art.
The ubiquitous orange-yellow and grey-white threads that grace every auspicious occasion pervade every work, be it of wood, stone or textile. Tied together remarkably well by the sutra or sacred thread, which is a leitmotif of Lakshmi’s oeuvre, this exhibition of her works in various media is on until February 5 at Forum Art Gallery, Fifth Street, Padmanabha Nagar, Adyar.
SWAPNA SATHISH
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