T.V. Santhosh tackles conflict and the evolution of war in his latest show

T.V. Santhosh may not label himself an activist, but his work reflects his political and ideological views

Ideas of conflict and violence continue to be at the heart of T.V. Santhosh’s work. His latest show, History Lab and the Elegy of Visceral Incantations, a solo after a decade-long hiatus, at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai, examines how the twin concepts have become a part of our everyday experience.

Santhosh’s oeuvre is political, powerful, yet also personal. The works on display — including watercolour paintings featuring the protagonist’s image in various dystopian scenarios and the artist’s persuasive sculptural installations — are an attempt to understand why history is infested with stories of conflict and war. “It is about looking at the evolution of war from the point of view of technological development,” he says. “How weapon technology redefined strategies and the impact of warfare, where innocent civilians were also killed. It is about history itself where there are multiple readings and clashes of view points, truth and agendas.”

An artist of international repute, whose works are regulars at auctions, Santhosh’s art has constantly questioned the manipulation of reality by politics and media. “We look at reality through the filters of news reportage and history. They have the power to play with our emotions, at times even interfere with our sense of justice. When you look at things from a larger humanist point of view, you realise that there is always an alternative, but that it never seems to happen.”

Yet he rejects labels of activism or politics. “I had, for a brief time, been involved with some form of activism in the mid ’80s when I was in Kerala, but today I would not consider myself a political or artist activist because I know the gravity of this stance,” he says. “My works are derived from a very personal approach. It is a philosophical inquiry, and political and ideological views are ingrained in it by default. I believe my approach is more open and humanistic in nature.”

Santhosh started out as a student of painting at the Institute of Fine Arts in Thrissur, Kerala, before he focused on sculpture during his bachelor’s and master’s in fine arts at Santiniketan in West Bengal and Sayajirao University of Baroda respectively. Based in Mumbai, he says the city has entered his work in many ways. One of his sculptural installations — which is currently on display at Phoenix MarketCity in Chennai, alongside installations by other eminent Indian artists — is a replica of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station. It features LED timers and a 30-degree tilt, which he says “signifies shifting historical perspectives, as if to examine the foundation for traces of unwritten narratives”.

Today his practice is a combination of sculpture, painting and installation using various materials, including LED panels. Does the subject dictate the medium? “In some cases, yes, especially sculpture,” says Santhosh. “Unlike most postmodernist practitioners, my sculpture is not material-specific; rather it is a combination of the transformative possibilities of the material in respect to image making and how far the meaning can be generated.”

For instance, the use of LED timers plays an important role in visuality and meaning. “Most of them are set in a countdown format. On an individual level, we are counting down our days towards death, but on an ecological level, humanity is counting down towards a possible larger catastrophe. But it could also be taken as an actual timer used for time bombs,” he concludes.