REVIEW

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Myths of Unspoken Biospheres

JohnyML visits ‘Myths of Unspoken Biospheres’ at Guild Gallery, Mumbai curated by Shubhalakshmi Shukla and reviews the works by the two artists Sudheesh K and Jeetander Ojha. “Polemically opposite in their approach and articulation, these two artists try to grapple with the present day reality through their respective areas of interest in history and culture,” says the author

‘Myths of Unspoken Biospheres’ is a two persons show at the Guild Gallery, Mumbai. Conceived by the Mumbai based art critic Shubhalakshmi Shukla, this show has Kerala based Sudheesh K and Baroda based Jeetander Ojha as participating artists. Polemically opposite in their approach and articulation, these two artists try to grapple with the present day reality through their respective areas of interest in history and culture. While Sudheesh goes back to historical memories and collective unconscious of a region, Jeetander looks at crime files available in another sphere of memory and registration; internet. Sudheesh delves in the surreal and Jeetander in the over-real. While the former uses sanguine colors to depict his imaginary world, Jeetander sticks to black and white to portray the real criminals.

As all of us know, myths are formed by collective memories, and they carry certain grains of historical truth and a lot of imagination. When history is recounted without heeding to the demand for factual verification, they turn into myths and these myths in turn give birth to further myths, however always keeping the grain of truth intact. Simultaneously, myths are a discourse and refuge; they can tangentially cut into the mainstream discourse and generate transgressive debates and also they can provide shelter for those people who want to regress into the safety of tradition. In this exhibition, the artists have taken the former course in order to debate the fundamental issues of truth and reality.

Sudheesh’s paintings are mythological in the sense that they depict history in the form of mythology. In his world, the characters of much recounted stories mutate into fantastical beings that participate in an orgy of overlapping narratives. These hybrid beings, like the imaginary beings of Borges, carry a story within them and in their acts and each of them correspond to the history of a bygone era; an era ranging from 3rd Century BC to 15th Century AD. The Chera dynasty that ruled over the northern parts of Kerala and the north-west of Tamil Nadu, is the point of departure for the artist. This dynasty, which fought over its adversaries and established the kingdom, helped to form one of the glorious periods in the history of South India. Sudheesh interest in this remote era has a lot to do with his interest in the intrigues of politics.

Plots, counter plots, sieges, palace intrigues, abdication, betrayal, love, strategies and so on add to the survival of practical politics. Sudheesh looks at these components of politics overtly seen in his immediate surroundings. He assumes the garb of a commentator by detaching himself from the immediacy and also by transporting himself into a world that too is detached from temporal holdings. The imaginary beings from a bygone era act out parallel themes and stories while keeping the grain of history and truth within their act. They assume the quality of myths while adhering to the sense of truth.

Jeetander’s portraits of serial killers are further intriguing because they too appear before us as ‘victorious’ beings. Serial killers, social and mental deviants attract the artist as the characters of a parallel mythology. Jeetander’s initial quest for the social deviants starts with his interest in finding out their status as ‘victors and victims’. His selection of serial killers could have been from anywhere else, however, his choice of internet as a resource is interesting. Internet is a sphere where the temporality of events and ‘actors’ is considerably broken down. In internet, the virtual space becomes a constant ‘present’, like mythology. Both internet and mythology transcend time within space and the narratives around these characters gain almost mythological status. The overlapping narratives, irrespective of these people origin, social status, motivation to kill and modus operandi, weave a new mythology and it attracts the artist.

The artist does not seem to pronounce any judgment on these characters or their stories. He is interested in their very acts and their self transformations. Despite their horrendous acts, they look cool and alluring. Their lives are seductive and this seduction provides a counter thesis to the drabness of the contemporary life. However, Jeetander does not celebrate their deeds. He deconstructs their existence to pixels and forms, painterly modes of analysis, and the viewer is asked to put in his/her energy to decipher their personalities. Philosophically, Jeetander’s attempt is to posit the viewer also in the same frame. He enquires how the social deviancy inherent in every person finds its reflection in the act of inflicting subtle pains on others. The serial killers are just emblematic of this sense of pleasure. The jacket with pins and weapons (titled ‘Its Like Nothing Inside Me’) and the self-portrait with threads (Imbroglio-Discomfit) also posit the artistic self within the discourse of crime, despite the intentional detachment.