KOCHI: Like many, it was Mother Nature that lured him into the world of art and painting. Each of his works portray the myriad shades of lush-land around his home, with the burnt red hibiscus, pine green paddy field, azure blue river all are. Which is why Shyju Eruvatty, the young artist calls his exhibition held at the Kerala Art Gallery, ‘Natural symphony’. The 28 water-colour paintings unfold his deep passion for the hues of nature.“I always feel that city life has its shortcomings. Most of us find ourselves coming to cities, though the unaffected beauty and simplicity of the countryside remain with us and beckon us every now and then. One who has spent some years in the village can never bear to see the tendency among city folks to pollute their surroundings,” says this 26 year old artist. Varying themes like ‘kavu’, ‘theyyam’, the predominant symbols of northern Malabar all find a way into his art. Shyju says, “I have grown up watching theyyam and thira. And I have tried to recreate those in my paintings. Every stroke my brush makes is an image that comes to my mind.” The artist does not believe in merely copying life-like images to paper. He observes the things around him and gives his own expressions to it.The paintings are realistic, and take one’s mind into the nostalgic past. They have the nestling beauty of domestic village scenes and childhood images.His favourite motifs are chethipoo, thumbapoo, hut, sea shore, jackfruit, lagoon, paddy field, sun shade, violet tree, along with two surrealistic ones, namely ‘antiques’ and ‘kissing’ which stand out in the series. Shyju says he has an affinity towards old utensils which he has been collecting for years. That prompted him to make a painting on it. ‘Kissing’ is another such painting, where two cactuses appear to be in an embracing pose. He says that when he sees certain objects, he has a tendency to personify them. That was the inspiration behind ‘Kissing’. Shyju who has been active in the art circuit for the last five years is from Eruvatty in Kannur district. He did his Bachelors from College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram. He has already conducted group exhibitions at Vadakara, Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur. This is his first solo exhibition. He also has an avid interest in films, theater and is currently working in the advertising field.
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