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| Zakir Hussein |
From what was once a static and uninspiring Art scene, Kerala has today transformed itself into being one of the most important Art circuits in the country. In fact, even in Kerala, it is cities like Kochi that are a must for any Art circuit. Contemporary Artists and Art critics may disagree on the reasons why this change has taken place, but what they cannot contest is the creative contributions of younger generation Artists from Kochi like Zakir Hussein.
And, like all critics and contemporary commentators, Zakir Hussein too differs on why this change has taken place. Difficult to digest his reasons may be, they have something to do with reality. "As the European countries stArted shedding their cultural monopoly and began recognising the creative contributions of Artists from the East, including those from countries like India, it was the younger generation Artists from these unexplored areas that got the prominence." For him, it is the diversified life experiences and their revealing portrayal that have made the works of the younger generation Kerala painters more popular.
According to Zakir, the images and themes of the new generation Artists focus on subjects like feminism, dalit issues and environmental destruction, all hot topics for debates, specially in the international arena. "This plurality, which is different from mainstream Art language, makes Kerala Artists popular. Repetition of works in a monolithic language is monotonous. The composition, the thought process and their portrayal have to be different.”
Zakir, who likes to tread into the less-traveled paths, effectively expresses the finer dimensions of human attitudes and links their illusionary and realistic planes. "In fact, style is a web; I don't want to get trapped in it. Artists have to create more and more new tracks. Moving through a preset style is easier, but what I prefer is to find my own style and to stay away from the so-called conventional styles.”
Preferring themes that deviate from the monolithic language of Art, Zakir says, "visuals from our daily life always feature in my works. The violence in our day-to-day life, the intrusion of multinational products and western lifestyles, all come out in my works.” Contesting the charge that he is opposing such trends through his works, Zakir says, "my works are like a scream, they give the society the awareness and an opportunity to open up. Defending cultural invasions through paintings is a blunder. Daily, how many times do we see the colourful visuals of various multinational products in different media? The western culture is slowly being imposed on us and is dominating our society. My paintings depict the helplessness of the common man in surviving this cultural invasion.”
And, Zakir’s paintings like 'Unbearable pleasures of eternity' and 'The night' beautifully portray this inner conflict. "When two dialectical images are blended, it will create a different meaningful image…most of my works are being portrayed in this manner."
Thus, while some of his works are preoccupied, others are momentary and independent, works through which he tries to portray his personal nostalgic memories and images. "One of my most favourite paintings, 'Unbearable pleasures of eternity' is a well-planned, preoccupied work as it is one in which I had outlined the idea before I stArted to paint. Against this, 'The Night', rich with a plethora of images, is a momentary portrayal, symbolic of abandonment. You can see plenty of images of abandoned flowers, birds, animals, human beings and other objects", Zakir says.
Is titling necessary? "Sometimes, titling can have a deep impact, but again there are works that can't be titled through words," is what Zakir feels, pointing out that a sensible onlooker can identify several layers in a painting, specially his that are closely linked with human life.
(Zakir Hussein has been in Kochi since the early 90s, though his works have mostly been exhibited outside Kerala, including in Mumbai and Delhi. He is holding his exhibition in a foreign country in New York soon. In Kochi, Zakir has exhibited his works in Dravidia Art Gallery and Lalit Kala Academy Art Gallery in 1997 and 2000, respectively.) |
