Subodh Kerkar’s ‘The Keel’ travels to the Netherlands

The artist’s installation, which celebrates the inseparable bond between life and the ocean, takes Subodh Kerkar to the shores of Amsterdam

Growing up, Subodh Kerkar remembers watching his parents painting in their spare time, and happily joining along. “At 18, I wanted to be anything, except a soldier, a priest or a shopkeeper,” he chuckles. Kerkar ended up pursuing medicine, and pursued art as a hobby, much like his parents.

When life as a doctor became routine, however — and he started noticing his artworks being snapped up by collectors — he decided to give an alternate career a go. Today, the artist and founder of the private art gallery, Museum of Goa, is taking his art international. Last Sunday, a playful installation titled The Keel was performed on IJmuiden beach in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, with over 50 participants. This weekend, a movie of it, along with two other installations, will be shown at LaLaLand, a festival showcasing art and music from India, in Ruigoord.

Answering the ocean’s call

It’s been a long journey getting here. “Initially, I started painting portraits and landscapes, but got bored again!” Kerkar says. “Just because I could draw, didn’t mean I was anywhere close to being an artist. So I trained my eye and knowledge by constantly visiting galleries, museums and biennales — they became my art teachers.”

Describing his works as a reflection of his thoughts and a commentary on his experiences, often throwing light on his socio-political beliefs, Kerkar’s works are largely performative, shot across a beachside landscape. “I call myself an ocean artist because I believe the ocean has a huge role to play in creating civilisations. It ferried people, ideas, text and trade for centuries — it’s a highway of culture. When I create works or compositions on the beach, I’m celebrating the inseparability of life and the ocean.”

The Keel harks back to the lives of Goan fishermen, whom he observed while practising medicine in their villages. Kerkar realised how inseparable their lives are from the ocean. “It was also inspired by the book Homo Ludens, written by Dutch historian and cultural theorist Johan Huizinga. He described humans as homo ludens, or naturally playful beings, because being playful is the foundation of human nature — from the time we are children, we are not taught or forced to play,” he explains, adding that the installation celebrates boating and rowing too, which are popular Dutch activities.

Stark black against the sea