Keith Miller once said, ‘Intimacy, as I am using it, is sharing my reality with you’ and a Chennai artist is doing the same today. He thinks about various things and paints his thoughts out.
Gurusuraj, who holds an undergraduate degree in Fine Arts, is displaying his first collection after finishing college in Chennai. Two other young artists, Ezhumalai and Vetrielvam, make up the trio that has created paintings connected to nudity, sexuality and intimacy.
Quiz him about choosing such a topic and Gurusuraj says, “Being a very conservative society, people consider this subject as a taboo and do not want to talk about it. As artists we do not have the freedom to express ourselves, and this was one medium to spread awareness about our thoughts.”
Having worked on a collection of 35 paintings over a period of 10 months, Guru says most of the time was spent on researching the subject. “More than painting, we spent a lot of time researching the subject.”
Quiz him if getting a gallery to display the collection was a challenge, he confesses, “Some galleries were open towards this, but others were not very forthcoming about it. Once we explained the concept we started getting a positive feedback.”
While the city is considered to be traditional and conservative, Guru thinks it is the right place to start. “I am born and brought up in Chennai and I know how conservative the city is, so what better way to start the journey than here?”
Guru goes on to say, “When we first decided to portray such a sensitive topic we knew there would be less or no market for it. We did not think about the monetary aspect at all. I would like to tell people to come out of their shell and discuss intimacy — it not only results in spiritual growth but will also help control the population.”
