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New Indian Express

Parinamam: The artist who refuses to stand still

Most artists find comfort in a signature style a recognisable stamp they never abandon. But for BD Dethan, that very idea feels like a cage. For over two decades, he has been deliberately breaking his mould, shifting styles whenever familiarity starts to feel like repetition. 'Parinamam', his 34th exhibition that is now going on at Vylopilly Samskrithi Bhavan, could thus be called a record of his evolution. 'Since 2000, I have exhibited almost every year. I cannot stick to one style forever. Once my mind says, 'That's enough,' I end it and move on,' he says. Dethan's artistic journey has been a restless evolution. His famous 'Kali' series, created over six or seven years in pen and ink, became a turning point. Stark, haunting, and deeply unsettling, the series was born from meticulous preparation — sometimes 50 or 60 sketches before a single stroke touched paper. Published in Kerala Kaumudi, 'Kali' sparked strong public reactions. 'If you ask me what the most important work of my career is, I would say 'Kali' without hesitation,' he admits. The inspiration, he reveals with a mischievous grin, came with a story---part myth, part social allegory---imagining humanity as a mix of demonic impulse and envy, gifted with compassion only as a last-minute divine correction. That philosophical darkness shaped the mood of the series, but it came at a cost. 'The works haunted me. After a while, I needed to step away.' When asked why 'Kali' was so haunting, Dethan leans back and grins. 'I made up a story,' he confesses. In his telling, creation itself had a twist. 'My grandfather once told me that after the Creator made all living beings, humanity was created last. Before that, the angels asked the Creator 'What should we add to this new being?' And the answer came, 'Give him a little of the envy we mixed into the demon, the creature we made before this.''