DHANARAJ KEEZHARA
CHIAROSCURO the shades of light and life
Lively tales of a darker life P Sudhakaran
W
hat was his name? Whatever it may be, his innocent smiles, the sparkle in the helpless eyes, and the colourless air around glimmer before our eyes. The boy in Mira Nair’s Oscar-nominated film, ‘Salaam Bombay’ is the face of Indian slum life in all its hues of darkness. When my friend Dhanaraj Keezhara shared a few of his latest paintings, which are experiments in thematic plane as well as medium, the image that reflected in me was that of the young boy, which is a slice of burning life in the slums, devoid of colours. Yes, these paintings in which the artist experiments the possibility of tea-stain and charcoal instead of the conventional mediums like oil or acrylic, the silent cries and fury of the marginalized lot come to the fore – the children of the lesser god who are pushed into the fringes of the urban life, into the unending darkness. But their faces dawn upon you from the obscurity and that rawness pierces you like the invisible arrow. Like the earlier works of Dhanaraj, including his experiments on ‘nilathezhuthu’ (ground painting) which is transient, the medium and the compositions should be seen as a whole to get closer to the intricacies of this se-
ries that is more of political, at the same time departing from our conventional notions about aesthetics. The inspiration, or rather the provocation, behind these faces of darkness is no doubt the frequent interaction with the life of the marginalized as a visual media teacher associated with a school teaching the slum children, says the artist. The human form itself is political, as is proclaimed in this series, which points finger towards the equation of exploitation related to the age-old concept of the hunter and the prey. And, parallel to it, he also questions the notion about development without organic character. On going through these works, you may not get excited about their splendor, because the apparent aesthetic appeal is not what the artist wants to convey with us. Rather than the skin deep appreciation, he wants you to look at the politics of their frugal existence and their sweat that feeds you. He wants you to burn from within, to choke with the realization that this too is life.
Untitled size :15 x 22 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on paper
When we look at these works silently celebrating darkness, as we experienced in some of the paintings of Yusuf Arakkal, we come face to face with the human existence, especially that of the children, which is not visible in the glitter of the world. But they are not meek or lonely – they are powerful with their voice even in their silence. “Much of my inspiration comes from my engagement with students at Christel House India, the institution where I work, where I have entered into my 16th year of service now. I experienced many great moments while teaching. I have had the opportunity to interact with so many children over the years. Watched them entering kindergarten and watched them complete their education at this wonderful organization… and following our vision and mission they become asset to the society,” says Dhanaraj. Though these works are a combination of memories, imagination and responses to different situations in life, the homework the artist did to compete it is evident in these paintings that assert the command of life at multiple levels. These charcoal drawings, with dark background in varied shades made of tea stain, have the beauty of live sketches which you cannot recreate from your memory. The background and the sketches that underscore the power of the line become the extension of one another though they contrast each other at the apparent level.
In a series in which each work is a piece of life of the marginalized – their silence and solitude – the medium that Dhanaraj uses needs to be seen as a bold experiment, which again questions our concepts of a painting, especially in a world driven by commercial equations. “Driven by the motto of ‘return to nature’, I attempt to develop a distinct style, exploring variations in each painting,” says the artist, who agrees that experimenting with new material, innovative mediums and styles poses innumerable challenges. But the eco-friendly canvas made of handmade paper, tea-wash experiment, and charcoal sketches produce aesthetics of a mysterious kind, according to him. And that mysterious aesthetics is the identity of these paintings with life, where an alternative medium asserts the power of the life in all its rawness at the same time connecting with nature in the purest form, veering off the trodden path. And to celebrate that life, what else could be a better medium than the one Dhanaraj experimented here?! (P Sudhakaran is an art critic and journalist)
Two faces size :22 x 30 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
Untitled size :15 x 22 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
The world unseen size :30 x 22 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
Untitled size :30 x 22 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
The alley size :30 x 22 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
The hidden smile size :30 x 22 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
Akka size :30 x 22 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
The world unseen size :30 x 22 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
Untitled size : 22 x 30 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
The verandah size :30 x 22 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
The school girl size :30 x 22 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
Reflection size :30 x 22 inches medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
At mother’s door size :22 x 30 inches
medium: Tea stain and charcoal on handmade paper
Dhanaraj Keezhara 692, masjid street , Ramaswamypalaya, Maruthi Sevanagar, Bangalore- 560033 India phone no: +91 80- 254 20 188 Email: dhanarajkeezhara@gmail.com Web : dhanrajkeezhara.com
Exhibitions and projects Dhanaraj had held solo and group exhibitions in more than 30 villages in Kerala (1986-91); participated in the annual painting exhibitions organized by Kerala Lalitha Kala Academy (1989,1990, 1991,2004, 2007 and 2008, exhibition of spiral painting at RavindraKalakshetra, Bengaluru (1993), group exhibition titled ‘From the nether the ceaseless dance’ inthree towns of Kerala (1993-94), environment photo exhibition in Ooty (1997,1998 and 1999, group exhibition in Chitra Art Gallery in Bengaluru ( 1999, solo exhibition Teri Bangalore (2005), group exhibition by Bangalore Film Society (2005, 2006 and 2007, solo exhibitions by AFB Bangalore (2007) SilpaChitra Karnataka ChitrakalaParishath ( 2009), solo exhibition by AFB Bangalore (2010), exhibition at Art Bangaluru (2012) at UB City – Bangalore, group exhibition 9th Annual Show - Galerie Sara Arakkal (2012), group exhibition ArtWave by Karnataka ChitrakalaParishath ( 2014), Every Day Life: The Repertoire of Ritual and Performance, a multi-media collaboration with US sound artist Diana Chester at Kannur in Kerala (2014).Sugatha - a terracotta sculpture, Kerala ( 2015) TheyyamNelathezhuthu Kannur Kerala (2016) He has co-authored a book ‘Rain In the Wind -A Collection of Art and Poetry’, an innovative collaborative work that shares the poetry of Deneene A Collins of USA. Awards and recognitions include International Photography Competition YDC – Netherlands 1995; Indiana University Photography Award – 2014. His mediums include oil, watercolour, acrylic, charcoal, tea stain, dry pastels, graphic design and mixed medium.
A special thanks to Christel house india Management, staff, students and their parents as well as all those who have supported my concern and worked with me. Thanking to my friends P Sudhakaran to write about my paintings, Chandan for photography, PP Rajeevan for catalogue concept and design
the shades of light and life
CHIAROSCURO