T.K. Muralidharan, a selftaught artist and poet, finds inspiration from the most unique source — machines and abandoned buildings. His recent exhibition in Kochi, ‘Machinoscapes’, bears testimony to his obsession with everything urban.
“I have been a resident of Mumbai for the past 20 years and, to me, the urban setting is a very familiar scene. Painting is like a new language in which every person comes up with a new alphabet with which he can express himself. It is the quest for these new letters that brought me to the theme of machines and abandoned buildings,” says Muralidharan.
His paintings represent the common face of rusted and cracked buildings abandoned during the times of war and other catastrophes in countries like Iraq, Afganisthan and Sri Lanka. They seek to capture the memories associated with them and what the urban landscape withholds for the future.
“I’m a textile designer by profession. So, my association with paint and canvas has been natural and the desire to express has always been a part of me. Before I came into painting, I was a poet. It was a chance encounter with Bose Krishnamachari that prompted me to devote more time towards painting,” he adds.
Muralidharan adds, “To me an artist’s job is to ensure that a representation of his times. The reality that he is surrounded by is etched on the walls of history for the future generation to find. This is exactly what I attempt to do through my paintings as well as poems.
