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The Hindu
5 days ago
- General
- The Hindu
Lending an artistic touch to the lives of common people
Inspired by the tales of ordinary people such as a farmer who lost his land to a thermal power station, a home maker who loves shell fish from the Ennore Creek, and a seashell picker who struggles to make ends meet, students of the Government College of Fine Arts have drawn sketches and made collages that are among an array of works on display at DakshinaChitra at Muttukadu as part of the Environment Action Month. The exhibition – titled Ghosts, Monsters and Dreams – also gives a solution to clean up the Ennore Creek, and safeguard it for future generations from the common man's perspective. It will be on till June 30. G. Sundarrajan of Poovulagin Nanbargal, who inaugurated the exhibition on Sunday, pointed out that for thousands of years, people learnt everything through stories and tales. He stressed the importance of creating awareness about the environment through art forms such as music, dance, paintings, collages. 'These days, arts is being used even as a medium of protest. If Chennai is to become a climate-resilient city and march into the 22nd Century, technology and traditional knowledge should join hands,' he added. G. Karthik and B.M. Benisha, co-founders of Aram Thinai said the exhibition was the result of a research project funded by the British Academy and anchored by Coastal Resource Centre. 'We wanted to connect with the people of Ennore through their stories, and wanted more people to understand the importance of the Ennore Creek to the city,' they said. Pictures of the Kodungaiyur dump yard clicked by Sakthi of the Vyasai Thozhargal team are also a part of the exhibition. According to Anitha Pottamkulam, Director (culture), DakshinaChitra, this is the first time that they are holding month-long events for creating environment awareness. 'We have put together walks, art exhibitions, and even a programme on lime wash. We are looking to work with a range of collaborators, who are working with the community,' she said.
The Hindu
26-04-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Visual lesson from design professor
When assistant professor of Interior design and decor, Karthiga T from JBAS College for Women went out on an early morning ride to Marina beach at the end of last year, to catch the sunrise, what greeted her was a shoreline littered with plastic waste — bags, large water cans, abandoned slippers, mosquito bats, and other debris tossed ashore. Deeply disturbed by what she saw, this Velachery resident felt compelled to turn her emotion into action. 'This is when I decided to take this issue to a wider audience, but through the language of art. We need to keep the conversation going, one way or another,' says Karthiga. She later incorporated this into her PhD research project after receiving ethical clearance to collect coastal waste and transform it into art, which marked the beginning of her mural art, 'Coastal Cry in Plastic'. 'While my artwork used only plastic waste, our aim at the end of the day, was to clean the beach. Together with my students from JBAS, we collected all forms of coastal debris from Marina and Besant Nagar beach over a span of 30 days,' she explains. After spending another month sorting through the collected waste, separating plastics, and sending the rest for recycling, Karthiga began working on her mural artwork from home. Between parenting her toddler and teaching at college, she used whatever spare time she had — often on her terrace to bring the piece alive. The artwork is a statue of a pregnant woman form which has around 20 kilograms of plastic waste. 'I wanted it to be a commentary on environmental degradation,' says Karthiga. 'The mural work is constructed entirely from coastal waste which we collected where I mainly used plastic bottles, bags, caps, wires, and discarded containers. I wanted viewers to reflect on their own consumption and disposal habits, and think about the sustainable practises of these discarded items through the mural art,' says the interior decor professor, who used eco-friendly paints. 'This pregnant female figure is a metaphor for Mother Earth, carrying the weight of our waste,' she adds. Recently, in April, the mural was installed at the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai. 'The mural now sits in a space surrounded by artists,' Karthiga says. 'I hope to create conversations and inspire more artists to choose sustainable practices in their work.'
