An art show that’s all about returning to the roots

Falah Faisal | NT

Bengaluru: “Love is something everyone needs, but it’s very hard to define,” says P Gnana, a painter and sculptor who hails from Neyveli near Pondicherry, but has been living in Singapore for the last 25 years after receiving a scholarship from LASALLE College of Arts.

His longing for home is something that deeply informs his art that revolves around relationships of all kinds. “It’s love between mother and child, husband and wife and even between friends, it’s about missing someone dear when you’re travelling,” he says.

The art exhibition titled ‘Unconditional Love’ features 30 paintings and 12 sculptures that are semifigurative, collage, minimal, and mixed media. “I don’t do realism. If I have an image I take it into my mind and do my own interpretation. If you see the paintings, most of them have their eyes closed because I don’t even want direct contact with the viewers. Whether the character is happy or sad is open for interpretation,” says Gnana.

A recurring theme in his works is cows, which he believes are a representation of motherhood. It was even the focus of his eighth solo exhibition, The Eternal Cow: Sculptures and Paintings. “I collected used car and bike parts to make a larger-than-life cow sculpture, I’ve meticulously merged them with conventional media such as bronze and canvas, to resonate the comfort and co-existence between the almost metaphysical cow and the devoted human being,” he says.

His work has been featured in exhibitions all over the world, including Jakarta, Malaysia, Dubai, and Hong Kong where his work has been a regular feature for over a decade. But this is his first solo show in India and he is really excited about it, he said, “For me, it’s all about coming back to your roots. Despite the western influences on my work, the culture and the roots don’t go away.”