Dialogues on sand and colour

Every day, the walls of Lalit Kala Akademi in Thousand Lights witness a rotation of creative expressions paintings, sculptures, and photographs by novices and veterans alike, displayed for enthusiasts to see, experience, and sometimes, even take home. But over the weekend, the gallery carried the lingering soul of nature through 50-plus mixed-media canvases created by Padma Shri awardee Sudarsan Pattnaik. The three-day exhibition, Natures Rhythm: Sand and Sublime, was inaugurated by Dr Ezhilan Naganathan, MLA, and Trotsky Marudhu, chairman of Government Film and Television Training Institute on Friday. The inauguration was also graced by various socialites and film personalities. For decades, Sudarsan has used the shores as his open-air gallery. Waves rose and fell around his masterpieces portraits of gods, echoes of culture, and calls for social change. But this exhibition represents a rare evolution. He said that the idea was born from a simple yet profound request. Many of my fans told me, Why not make something we can keep with us? Even Sudha Murty once said the same, he recalls. I thought, why not combine the two parts of my life painting and sand to create something that stays? The artists journey from a child labourer in Puri to a globally acclaimed sand sculptor, is a story of resilience. I started painting when I was a little child, he said softly. But due to financial problems, I couldnt buy colour, brush, or canvas. Then I shifted to sandwhen I made something on the beach, people appreciated it. That acknowledgement and appreciation was the driving force towards pursuing his creative journey. Now, in this exhibition, using sand, acrylic, and tissue paper, he brings permanence to his creativity. Each piece embodies what he calls a dialogue between the tangible and the spiritual where art becomes a reflection of ecological balance and inner peace. Displayed across the gallerys walls, Sudarsans canvases, from the past seven years, shimmered with texture and spirit. Most of his works integrated the elements of land, water bodies, animals like fishes, turtles and cows, human faces by making use of the earthy-tone colours of brown, blue, green and red in majority. A couple works depicting Hindu deities Ganesh, Shiva, and Shakti, were also part of the exhibition along with the nature -themed pieces. In Spirit of the Sea, a human face rises from swirling waves, celebrating harmony between humanity and the ocean. Echoes of Time depicts an abstract turtle, its fragmented form reflecting the fragile bond between people and the planet. In Suffering Spirits, split faces in green and blue weep for land and water a poetic indictment of deforestation and pollution. Each piece carries his signature connection with nature the same element that shaped his sand sculptures. My sand art started from nature, he said. These paintings, too, are about nature, balance, coexistence, and reflection. For Sudarsan, preparing for a solo show is no less challenging than sculpting on the beach. Life is always full of challenges. On the shore, I had to deal with nature itself. But in a gallery, the challenge is to connect with people, to communicate a message through art, he said. That message, he believes, is what keeps art alive. Every sand sculpture I make carries a message, he explained. These paintings also speak to society. Following exhibitions in New Delhi and Kolkata, Sudarsan calls Chennai a special stop. This place feels like home. There are so many people here who have followed my work for years, he said warmly.