Conscientious art stirring the heart

‘Art of the Heart’, an art exhibition being conducted at Lalitha Kala Akademi Art Gallery, is an eye-opener. At the exhibition, Dilna Sherin P.P., an artist from Malappuram has displayed more than 60 paintings portraying the harsh realities of life. The exhibition was inaugurated by Uma Behra IPS on April 18 and the paintings will be showcased until April 22.

The main theme of her paintings is violence against women and children. She has already done 12 exhibitions, the first one at Malappuram. She has also designed logos for the 2017 Kerala School Sports Meet, the ‘Oppam Kuttikalkoppam’ scheme, and the Manjeri Polytechnic Kalotsavam.

“She started drawing at a very young age. When she realised the problems faced by women and children in society, she used her talent as a silent protest,” says Selena P., Dilna’s mother. The only support she receives is from her mother, father, brother and some of their neighbors.

Her works show the most socially prevalent issues in our country. Child marriage, rape, child labour, political influence in rape cases, deforming children to beg for alms, lack of freedom for women in the orthodox families of India, female foeticide, beef ban in India, nature, love and the list goes on. In this exhibition, one of her paintings also pays tribute to the 8-year-old Kathua rape case victim.

“Women and nature are alike. They both experience the same threats in this materialistic world. God has given me this talent, my aim is to utilise it to do something impactful in society,” says Dilna. She is a girl of dreams and excels academically. She plans to take BFA for her graduation and is currently awaiting her Class XII results.