Pics Manu R Mavelil

Breaking free from the recoiling pasts and flooding emotions, he walks away with the little he had summoned up. Carrying his belongings – throbbing memories and companions who walked beside him through thick and thin – his face reflects the serenity of a survivor and lo! he chances upon a foothold. ‘Flood’ – a granite-bronze sculpture that speaks volumes about survival – is sculptor V Satheesan’s portrayal of an artist’s existential crisis.

‘Stone Age’ an exhibition of sculptures being conducted at the Alliance Française De Trivandrum, recalls the Mayan era, stirring up impalpable emotions on an onlooker. The sculptures, aesthetically-designed and well-crafted, depict an artist’s perennial struggles in simple yet spellbinding metaphors.

Satheesan’s oeuvres are ravishing poetry adorned in verdigris (Klavu) and palpable emotions.  “I experiment with various mediums to get the right result. The greenness of verdigris donates an earthiness to the work hence I don’t want to polish it out. Likewise I tend to polish only parts of the work to give smoothness where needed. The rhythm of carving changes in different areas in granite,” says Satheesan.

The sculptures from the ‘Awakening slave’ to the ‘Metamorphosis’, are a cry for acceptance.  Evoking the artist’s implacable yearning to be out there, they delineate his coming out of shells or cocoons, breaking the barriers. “A sculptor’s life is full of struggles. From the physical exertion to the lack of acceptance, it is not easy to be a sculptor in Kerala. The state is not yet ready to spend money on a sculpture. But I don’t mind that. I have developed an unfathomable attachment with my works since I have spent months envisioning and creating them,” says Satheesan who spends hours stroking his works to smoothen out their roughness. The 20 sculptures, the result of eight years worth of toil, shows the artist’s creative streak in its fullness. The bronze hooves and horns of the sandstone sheep shine when the rider leads him to eternity. His hand cuddles up a small lamb that looks at the world with its innate innocence. ‘Rider’, Satheesan’s state-award winning sculpture exhibits his strength and versatility in all its glory.

An art teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pattom, Satheesan started exploring the art of sculpture making from the tender age of 8. Hailing from Kappil, a pastoral beauty with breathtaking greenery, he made mini figurines that acted as dolls for an eight-year-old, out of clay he collected from the rice fields. At first his subjects didn’t go beyond the gods and goddesses and his perfect replicas made people take notice of his talent. Later on, he joined for BFA sculpture in Fine Arts College in the city and learnt various genres of the artform. Satheesan’s struggles to find a footing in the art world started when he left the city to do MFA at the Delhi University. There he had suffered from not knowing the languageand loneliness. Most of his works simulate the agony and anguish of those days in sheer perfection.

“Because I think and act differently I had to face rejections from all around. My sculptures are reproductions of sparks of ideas I get during my journeys. Those sparks for me are three dimensional unlike painters. Once they are put into stone, it earns a fourth dimension that is my experience and viewpoints,” says Satheesan.

The nemesis of man is himself; Satheesan’s works are vociferous renditions of such a concept. In this world of humongous sculptures these miniature wworks rightfully named ‘Frozen poetry’ takes the art to several notches up with its sheer genuineness and aestheticism.