About Me
Pushpakaran Kadappath
Artist
I belong to Velur, near Thrissur city, the cultural capital of Kerala state, India. Velur is a village of midland peasants, with imprint inheritance of traditional art and folk ritual practices that do picturesquely manifest in its festivals. All along my childhood, indelible experience of this rich inheritance filled me with lines and shapes. These lines and shapes began a dialogue with my innate sense; beyond the reverence with which my kith and kin worshipped the folk gods in idols. My matriarchs and forefathers, who spoke the folk Gods’ frenzied tongues, also emboldened, and added quivers to, the lines and shapes in me. It reshuffled time to find its order to be proper with the truth of untwined history. They, the beloved of my past and present, have made my creations as I, the feverish quill at their will, did each of the strokes that flowed out unbound. So, the visual tales were spoken through me.
The narration was always felt like a fable that seemed to be authorless but, was clear in its voiced images that undone the bewildering falsehoods to reveal the real. It was magical to be real. My village never loses its pictorial memory; neither has it gone passive with the train of it. Every year during Manimalarkavu Vela festival the train of memories resurges galloping into the real, on wooden horses with enormous eyes, impregnated with men whose present merge with the time of ages. The whole peasantry trot canter and gallop in immeasurable mirth. The magnificent shapes outlive all that are clumsy of mundane routine. The present takes the hands of the past in harmonic ride. Together they defy the fences of time and leapt over all.
In my family tradition even, worshipping is the finest incarnations of art. Amidst the artistry the oracles put on the air of prophets.
Kolam and Kalamezuthu,the unique ways of drawing patterns with powdered natural colors, an art form of Kerala folk rituals, have the traits of tribal and Dravidian cultures. This is an eloquent tradition that blends art with acts of rituals, in symmetrical forms. It unfurls myriad of lines and shapes in profuse strains; again, they themselves fill in me in rhythmic continuum.
The wooden idols of different Gods and Goddesses that my ancestors worshipped through ages, the antique Christian church, schools, teachers, friends, literature, travelling, also have goes on reflecting in my inner sense in different forms ever anew.
IN COURSE AS IT HAPPENED TO ME:
By the closure of my primary school days at my calm village, when I moved to the secondary school which was nearby, it enthused to do wood-carved toys. My Fine Art Teacher at middle school guided me. He gave the basic lessons of arts like drawings, water color and terracotta sculpturing etc. He initiated me to read art books that I continued on. Later it helped me to learn about great masters and their styles.
The artistic enthusiasm led me to join the foundation course in painting in the year 1998. That was in Kalady University, Cochin, Kerala. I learned Dharushilpa-traditional method of sculpturing, modern sculpturing and mural painting. In2001, I further continued my studies in painting for BFA in the same university,and passed out with first Rank in painting in 2005 April. My inquisitive quest in environmental sculpturing and designs continued.
The strong desire and ambition to continue studies and enquiries in same field made me join the RLV College (Mahatma Gandhi University, Kottayam, Kerala) for MFA in painting, which I passed with first class.The quest further led me to the renowned Shanthiniketan (Viswa Bharathy University, West Bengal, India). There I learned more about mural works of great masters like Binod Biharimukerji , Ramkinker and contemporary artist K.G Subramanyan. Imagery and perception that I imbibed both from tradition and academic sources embodied my creations. It churned out a new concept and christelled out a novel form for my drawings.
Paul Delevaux ( Belgian artist ) highly influenced me and it like a current pulled me to go back to tradition. South African contemporary artist William Kentridge's works also influenced me in another way leading me to studythe linear detailing with different kinds of medium like charcoal and Indian ink. After trying many kinds of medium I chose Indian ink. This water based medium of uncompromising vividity suited the lines that unwound the imagery that evolved from ever living memory. The traditions of rituals of my family and its art work have been source to the powerful contour lines in black which always enhanced the form of works. It always gave distinct vibes over the form.
THE FLYING FORMS IN MY RECENT DRAWINGS
By the closure of my primary school days at my calm village, when I moved to the secondary school which was nearby, it enthused to do wood-carved toys. My Fine Art Teacher at middle school guided me. He gave the basic lessons of arts like drawings, water color and terracotta sculpturing etc. He initiated me to read art books that I continued on. Later it helped me to learn about great masters and their styles.
Why history, dreams and adventures become inspiration for me? The village where I was born has epic historic heritage. Myth is the fruit of the tree of social memory and history is the nut. Folk arts, oracles and mythical stories again germinated from the nut. It is the strange magical shuddering of foregone generations’ frenzied narration through this wild vegetative growth and regeneration of myths- history-memory train in the turbulent current of time. My mind’s attempt to surpass the fearsome current of time may be the factor that inspires me to do art that recreates the regeneration of myths- history-memory.
Metaphorical elements as a self portrait, Dreams were my inspiration to my works. My best dreams were that of my childhood and perhaps those might have reflected in my works too. Those dreams always create in me a magical and adventurous world of hallucinations. In later stage, history becomes the needle that do the methodic knitting with the threads of myth. Images ever keep closeness to the feverish dreams. Dreams are cocooned in the stories that my grandmothers left untold. I always feel the warmth of the cocoon. It always was beyond spacio-temporal realms. This may be the reason why I am able to contain the reality and feel that I am living within it.