Coverage by The Star

Source:

Sunday February 13, 2011

Exhibition on works of Malaysian Indian artists

By SHARMILLA GANESAN
starmag@thestar.com.my

Voices of Nature 2011 features the works of up-and-coming Malaysian Indian artists with an intense passion for art.

AN exhibition featuring the works of several different artists is exciting because of the diversity. What more a showing of 19 different artists. Walking into the foyer of Alliance Francaise de Kuala Lumpur for theVoices of Nature 2011 exhibit, the sheer abundance of ideas and styles virtually leap out of their canvases. While the unifying theme is that of nature, the varied ways in which this has been interpreted by the 35 pieces on display create a total sensory delight.

What makes this exhibition by the Symbols Art Club even more exciting is that it features the works of Malaysian Indian artists who are still up-and-coming, all with one thing in common: they share an intense passion for art. Given the relative scarcity of visual artists from the Malaysian Indian community, this is a very encouraging sign that there is much potential for growth here.

Glory of Sunflower by Jayashree Ramasamy.

Formed in 2009, the Symbols Art Club works under the mentorship of accomplished local artist Jeganathan Ramachandram to give budding artists confidence and allow them to make a name for themselves. This is the club’s second exhibition – in 2009, they debuted with Caves on Canvas at Batu Caves, Selangor.

For Jeganathan, who has been an artist for more than two decades, the founding of the club was a natural process in his journey.

“I’m now a so-called senior artist, and there aren’t very many of us in the market. That’s not enough! When I studied art (in India), my master told me that art should spread,” he says.

A community’s culture is evident in its art, he adds, and he wants to ensure there is enough of that happening among Malaysian Indians.

“This is not some selfless endeavour of mine, though,” he insists. “The more I teach, the more I learn!”

From left: Rohini Indran, Lakshmi Muthupalaniyappan, Manon Maney Ramadass and Jayashree Ramasamy are some of the artists exhibiting their work at the Voices of Nature 2011 exhibition. – BRIAN MOH / The Star

As a source of inspiration and guidance, the Symbols Art Club has proven invaluable to its members.

“What is great (about being a member of the club) is that we are each extremely individual. There are 19 of us, and each is allowed to remain who they are, while also bringing out the best is each other,” explains Rohini Indran, a 31-year-old who balances her love for her art with a career with an NGO.

Currently, she shares, her paintings explore things that matter to her, such as children and humanitarian issues. The two paintings she is exhibiting, Mother Earth and Amma’s Baby, which display an incredibly detailed and organic feel, draw parallels between motherhood and nature.

Lakshmi Muthupalaniyappan, who first picked up a paintbrush 10 years ago, gained some much-needed direction after she joined the group about a year ago.

Wide and varied: Shadow Play by Manon Maney Ramadass is one of the works on display at the Voices of Nature 2011.

“Sir (as they call Jeganathan) changed my whole perspective. He inspires and focuses people; not many can do that,” shares the 44-year-old mother of three, who is showing a painting named The Silver Lining, which contrasts vibrant shades with dark shadows to explore the effect of development on not just nature but society.

For Manon Maney Ramadass (referred to as Mano), 46, a longstanding desire to dive into the world of art was fulfilled when she was introduced to Jeganathan.

“I used to want to be an artist so deeply, every time I saw a painting I liked, or met someone who painted. I was obsessed with it. When I was introduced to Sir, I finally found someone who could guide me,” says Mano, whose artistic inclination is evident in her choice of careers – she is a graphic designer.

Mano, who says she likes to provoke people with her art without preaching, contributed two pieces to the exhibition, named Shadow Play I & 11, which use the simplicity of animal-shaped shadow puppets and monochromatic colours to hint at more complex situations.

Full-time artist Jayashree Ramasamy, 46, who went through an immersive learning experience under her brother Jeganathan, found the exhibition right up her alley, as nature and environmental issues are very close to her heart. Besides the three paintings she is showing, which use figurative symbolism to emphasise the link between humans and nature, Jay is also sharing an installation art piece created from a piece of driftwood she found while scuba diving, called Source of Life.

She explains: “This piece is very important to me because it tells the story of how we humans have gained everything from nature, and yet are not giving anything back.”

> ‘Voices of Nature 2011’ is open to the public until Feb 28 at Alliance Francaise de Kuala Lumpur (No. 15, Lorong Gurney, Kuala Lumpur). Visiting hours are from 10am to 6.30pm daily (closed on Sundays and Mondays). For more information, call 03-2694 7880 or e-mailculture.afkl@gmail.com.