Drawing is not only a way to come up with pictures: drawing is a way to educate your eye to understand visual information, organizing it into a more hierarchical way, a more economical way. When you see something, if you draw often and frequently, you examine a room very differently.
Vik Muniz
‘Markings of a hand’ is an exhibition of ‘perception and projection’. There is mastery of naturalistic contours, precision and absence of shading adding a style to the ‘disciplined’ scribbles. The concept sketches and drawings have been created in a simple and expressive way. Whether it is straight, bowed, bushy, thin, dashed or hastened lines, all convey numerous physiognomies, sentiments and reactions. This abstraction helps in the transmission of the essential features and flow of the subject, without getting locked in unnecessary details. Varying thickness, gesture and force of contour lines not only create a sense of depth and dimension but also convey movement and energy. On one hand, the quick strokes might convey vigour, on the other the deliberate lines create a more contemplative feel.
Wobbly, yet forceful, free-flowing lines reflect personal interpretation of the artist, his thoughts, and even a particular mood or theme. His helplessness during his accident, made him experiment with his ‘left hand’, moving ahead practising and embracing the process and even imperfections in his drawings at that stage. He set challenges for himself, by drawing with his non-dominant hand, which helped him break free from his vulnerable zone and explore new strengths and possibilities. Consistency has been his motto to reconnoitre a new visual journey. He felt that unplanned elements added character and authenticity to his artwork and made it more communicative, which he would not have been able to make even with his right hand. There are minimal drawings; and continuous, unbroken lines that trail the delineations of the subject. Even the outlines are keys to identity.
The curator- Dr Pramila Lochan says, “Markings of a hand’ presents for the very first time on view, exclusive left-hand drawings by eminent artist Pa Sa Kumar. This exhibition takes the viewer from the present to the past to visit a moment of resolve that changed the course and dynamics of a creative line for the artist…It establishes an empowering process of discovery and redemption leading to a series of works marked LHD (Left Hand Drawings) having chosen from close to a hundred…The early works are the pivotal response to the emotional state of mind moving from the agony of the accident, of shouldering family responsibility to nightmarish monstrous creatures devouring one’s peace of mind. Among the later drawings, we see a segment that portrays man as he trapezes through situations holding onto social strings of vulnerability…The innate restlessness to capture emotions and moods of people and situations adds an absorbing variety to the collection albeit with humour and ingrained with the ironies of life and existence…The recorded forty-five-minute video projection ‘My experience along the black line’ unravels the layers, techniques, and deliberations at various stages of the artist’s connection with the line.”
Freely travelling or disconnecting lines add sequence, route and thrust to the shapes, contours and forms. Drawings lead the mind back to childhood where a circle could mean a sun and a curve could mean a moon. ‘Portraits’ in single lines as well as in scribbles; ‘fruit sellers’, ‘rooster’ and musicians; dogs playing, barking and even sitting next to a man near rocking chair; series on unpredictability mirrored in the title ‘swing of life’ made after his accident in 1998; kids sitting on a man’s angled arm; electric poles with tangled wires; ‘conversations’ midst people and even among animals; ‘catching the moon’- couple on a horse’s back with extended arm to grab the moon, ‘moon seller’ on a bicycle- all the titles translate into meaningful entity. Another sketch which caught attention was a smoking man who reminded Pa Sa of JMS ‘Mani’.
One can see remarkably effective sweeping lines, leading the onlooker’s eye and suggesting movement. Deliberate distortion, overlapping and chaotic scribble in a few drawings seem to be Pa Sa’s artistic device, which is in total contrast to a few of his minimal drawings. The sketches hold blotched parts too in a few places like the usage of thumb prints. There is visual alertness where gentleness and abruptness of treatment create emotional responses. Forms have been unified by clustering and nearness suggesting coherence in the composition. It reminded me of Paul Klee’s ‘Flight from oneself’ where two separate figures are joined by the same cord and become one continuous piece of string. Jagged and staccato rhythms; anticipation, vividness and intensity; tension and conflict; purpose, control and even pauses in between make an ordinary experience uniquely aesthetic. The clear and unobstructed areas are becoming soothing passages in the skilful doodling.
The Solo show of Left hand drawings by Pa Sa Kumar is being hosted by Art Houz, Bangalore from 9th to 27th November, 2023. The exhibition is well structured and organized by the gallery Manager- Jayanthi Shegar, with a demonstration as a part of an outreach programme. It has been curated by Dr Pramila Lochan, who has been the pushing force behind Pa Sa to exhibit his works. The Chief Guest at the inauguration was Sheela Gowda– an eminent artist; with Prof MJ Kamalakshi- senior artist and former Secretary of Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath; Prof Rajani Prasanna- Art Historian; and Prema Kumari as Guests of Honour.
Photo Courtesy – Past Present
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Alka is an artist and art writer with a diverse career spanning teaching, e-learning projects with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), and editorial work. An alum of the Government College of Art, Chandigarh (BFA) and Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (MFA, PhD), she has been recognised with numerous prestigious awards and honours.
