A composite representation of the personal and the familiar is on display at a group art show, The State of Being Here, in Thiruvananthapuram

Thirteen artists, part of 121 Studio Space, a collective, have exhibited their works at Amuseum art gallery

A yellow lungi is Nagajan Karavadara’s canvas, that too one smeared with mud and clay. The people, animals, vegetation and familiar sights of a Kerala landscape are depicted by this Gujarat-based artist on the cloth using mixed media.

While Kiran S Venugopalan shares his concern for the receding coastline with the viewer through a work on a big canvas, depicting a roof, resembling thatched roofing, supported by traditional fishing boats, the personal and the familiar get an artistic touch in the acrylic works by Justin Titus and Sreejith B.

They are among the 13 artists who have exhibited their paintings at The State of Being Here art show on at Amuseum art gallery. “The show is conceptualised within the scope of the artists’ take on their immediate realities,” states Megha Cyrus, curator of the show in her note.

The artists are part of 121 Studio Space, an artists’ collective based at Pachalloor in the suburbs of Thiruvananthapuram. “We formed it three years ago. It is a space for artists to get together to work and discuss art. We hold camps and have exhibited our art creations at the studio. This is the first time that our works are being put up for public viewing,” says Leon Xavier, founder of 121 Studio Space. These artists are classmates and friends who studied in the same institution or know each other through mutual friends. In addition to alumni from art institutions in Kerala, artists from art teaching centres outside Kerala are part of the collective.

“Art and artists are being exploited. This can be resisted to some extent if we stand together. We hope this collective serves that purpose. This is also a space where we all forget our worries,” says Leon, an art teacher in a city school.

In one of his paintings, Leon has visualised his life as the son of a fisherman, growing up in the fishing village of Poonthura in Thiruvananthapuram. “This is my visualisation of the fisherfolk and their daily grind. I have seen them at close quarters since I am one among them. This work is also a sort of self-exploration. The fact that our studio space is by the sea has inspired the work,” says Leon. In addition to capturing the vegetation of the location in another painting, he has put up a series of individual portraits, dedicated to his friends.

The studio with its scenic surroundings and the people living there have inspired Jibin Abraham and Mukhil Raj. Jibin, in a series of portraits, “have captured the interiors of the studio and the persons I have interacted with over a period of two to three months.” Mukhil has exhibited a pencil-on-paper series, and an enchanting work in acrylic, which, again, is a celebration of the seascape with the flora and the water. The innate charm of personal, intimate spaces is the subject of Mehja VS’ pencil drawings. An alumnus of Santiniketan, she has also showcased her oil paintings.