Young Chennai artists interpret the concept of ‘local’ through sculptures, paintings and art installations

From the chaos, a bright red canvas invites a second glance. A closer look reveals a quintessential Chennai sight: of a busy beeline outside a TASMAC store on a weekend night.

A yellow canvas on the other side of the wall, features lone pieces of fabric, each telling a story of the person who wears it. Not far away hangs a curious, mangled web of fishing nets in shades of blue and rust orange, inspired by North Chennai’s fishing hub, Kasimedu and its people. On another surface, are blue circular discs that mimic the walls of Tamil Nadu, which often carry ripped posters and incomplete lettering, interpreting vandalism as a form of expression by comparing it to the concept of ayutha ezhuthu in Tamil. 

Lalit Kala Akademi today is home to myriad such clever interpretations of the city and its surroundings by student-artists from Maisha Studio, between the ages of 13 and 23.

Curated by artist and silambam practitioner Aishwarya Mannivannan, the show titled Local ‘24 displays over 100 works by 16 young artists. As straightforward as the name is, Aishwarya often sits with the themes for a while before introducing the students to it every year. This time was no different.

“I have a very strong connection to the places I live and visit. That is the reason why we called it ‘local’, not Chennai. Where we are, and go to, we subconsciously forge a connection,” says Aishwarya. The idea of developing a sense of rootedness and establishing a connection with one’s immediate surroundings is key. Taking the effort to get close to the people, environment, architecture and art are all part of this exercise, reminds Aishwarya.  

The young artists have been at work for the last four months with this show. Research included field trips to Kasimedu, photo walks through the flower market in Parry’s, and interaction with artistes with disabilities. “We believe that the strength of Chennai is its sense of community,” adds Aishwarya. 

Nitthil S Kumar’s photography project, translated into a photo book as well, captures the people of Kasimedu in large, black-and-white portraits. “It was an eye-opening project. I usually spend a lot of time in Mylapore, where everyone is used to being photographed. Kasimedu is the opposite. People like to keep to themselves. So it took a lot of effort to get them to open up,” says the artist whose learning from the project hinged on the importance of being resourceful.

Ponni Ashok’s textile installation, which lights up in flashes of colour in a dark room, has prints inspired from the back of trucks, caught in moments of action like moving furniture. “I abstracted a lot of it. The collection is made from 62 upcycled sarees that were cut up, screen printed and done patch work on,” she explains. Some of the iconography has been used by the artist to create fresh textile prints. 

The students were left to choose whether they wanted to sell their work or retain it: priced between ₹5,000 to ₹50,000, a few of them have already seen takers. 

For Aishwarya, the biggest takeaway from working with young artists for over 13 years, has been the realisation that with the access that social media provides, most young creatives are aware of what happens at the other end of the world, and not so much in the ‘here and now’. 

Local, spanning the mediums of photography, sculpture, painting, textile art, and interactive media, is an attempt at bringing this attention back to the roots. And it does. The viewer is left with the sense of warmth that comes with relatability.  

Local ‘24 is on till June 20 at Lalit Kala Akademi, Egmore, Chennai.