Sculptor Anila Jacob hosts an exhibition of her works at her home in Aluva

Anila Jacob's retrospective exhibition showcases her seminal sculptures in her Aluva home turned gallery.

Sculptor Anila Jacob’s spacious home in Aluva, on the banks of the Periyar, is transforming into a gallery, showcasing some of her seminal works. Anilam, the exhibition that opens here today, is a retrospective on the artist, who made sense of wood and metal and melded them in curious ways. Before leaving for Ireland to join her son, Anila wanted to have a show of her works at her own space. “This show is a personal one for me. It encapsulates my journey thus far and I want people to come into my home and see my works,” she says, over the phone from Aluva. 

The 83-year-old sculptor says she has had a fulfilling career spanning six decades and she would still love to work on very large sculptures. “May be 15-foot ones. If someone commissions, I would definitely love to do a huge sculpture,” she says.

The first woman sculptor in India to win a national award (1965) — from the Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi — Anila found herself in sculpture, though it wasn’t what she set out to do. She joined the Government College of Fine Arts, Madras, in 1961, to study painting, but was admitted to sculpture by the then principal artist KCS Paniker. One of the leading artists in the Madras Art Movement and founder of Cholamandal Artists’ Village, Paniker, soon became her mentor, who was instrumental in guiding her through her artistic career. “I was immensely lucky to have a mentor like him. When I won my first award in 1962, (the National Exhibition of Art, Delhi), I had just started doing sculpture. It was my mentor who guided me through my initial years of uncertainty and doubt,” she says. 

Anila recalls her early years in sculpture, where Rani Poovaiah, her contemporary, introduced her to books on sculpture and the works of English sculptor Henry Moore. She was also influenced by the works of artists PV Janaki Ram, S Dhanapal; her camaraderie with her peers TK Padmini, Arnavas, SG Vasudev, Hemalatha Hanumanthaiya Seshadri, and Kanayi Kunjiraman also enriched her creative process. 

Anila’s sculptures are known for their fluid expression — works in glossy metal and wood that depict movement. She works mainly with copper, brass and bronze, fusing them with teak or rosewood. Her roots are reflected in many of her works, which depict the imagery of a rural landscape — featuring birds, animals and human figures.

One of her works, Unity in Diversity, occupies pride of place at the Terminal 3 of the Cochin International Airport. Her works are also part of the collection at the Lalit Kala Akademi in Chennai and New Delhi. 

The exhibition will be on from September 12 to 14 at Anila Jacob’s residence — Mulakkal house, Marampally, Aluva.