Aditi is the only female and non-Malayali to join the group of young contemporary artists whose paintings now adorn the walls of the Chaitanya Art Gallery in Kochi.

Seven in all, the artists have come together for ‘Cold Blast’, an exhibition of bold paintings reformulating the idea of contemporary.

While Aditi, with her representation of a young woman in contemporary India, uses irony and wit as her tools. Dibin Thilakan, a fourth year BFA student from Thrissur, digs into history and mythology with works like ‘System of Love’ and ‘Hallow-maker’ that show headless humans.

Twenty-eight-year-old Saju Kunhan from Palakkad tries to capture the beauty of implosions in a city like Mumbai. K. Sudheesh of Kozhikode, presents, in different layers, the different worlds he sees through his works ‘Procession in the Day of Celebration’ and ‘Network’.

Sujith K.S. brings into picture his environmental concern. He portrays his ideas with ideological illusions. Artist Sujil’s methods may look conventional but they speak of the artistic craftsmanship of a bygone era. His treatment shows him to be a purist. Vinod Balak, in his work, represents a world where democratic ideologies have transformed into totalitarian regimes over the years.

“The exhibition has been arranged to create an awareness of contemporary art,” says Sathya Sai, who runs Chaitanya with his wife Geetha. Geetha feels that there is no space for contemporary art in Kerala, even though many Malayali artists are known world wide.

The couple hopes Indian contemporary artists will get better recognition. The exhibition is on till June 7.