Vivid colours of Kerala captured in the creations of K.G. Babu

A friend of K.G. Babu, who also happens to be a colleague, informs me that Babu is a reticent man. He speaks only when prodded and prefers to pour his words into his canvases instead. That to know him one needs to understand a multitude of concepts; the colour green, its role in the lives of people who stay in Kerala and why some people prefer to stay within the womb of nature. Or why Babu chooses to live and work in the backyard of Thrissur, where he grew up in a modest home; its backyard opening out into a grove. His childhood was spent a short walk away to lush jungles, waterfalls, rivulets and all the other abundance that Kerala has been blessed with. I was also asked to examine why Babu chose to leave the bustle of Dubai (he received an opportunity to collaborate with a famous international artist there) and comforts it provided, to return home to Kerala’s cultural capital. A visit to Kerala is difficult proposition. Instead it is simpler to look at Babu’s creations which were recently exhibited at the NIV Art Gallery in NCR’s quieter Neb Sarai area. If the artist is silent, his vividly arresting canvases—collectively called In Spirit with Nature—speak volumes. So, what goes on in Babu’s head and what prompts him to adopt hyperréalisme? Babu believes that his present style crept into his art slowly; it was a natural, organic growth and progression from being a portrait artist (a craft for which he is famous in his home state). As he began to adopt the style more and more, albeit unconsciously, his friends were left astounded with his level of finesse. After conversations with his colleagues, friends and a former professor at Trisshure Art College, he truly began to indulge in the style. He confesses that his modus operandi as an artist is to capture his subjects on his portable camera. But he does not paint them as is. Babu derives inspiration from the images and takes an artist’s liberty (or licence, call it what you will) to enlarge the eyes (as if the image is being reflected on the surface of a dewdrop) and then juxtaposes them with nature. Nature is the overriding theme with tropical lushness of Kerala as its leitmotif—as is apparent in the abundance of bamboo groves, which become his backdrop on several occasions. The iota of artificial or reminiscence of civilisation (depicted through the clothes that his subjects wear) are ‘naturalised’ and adopted into the backdrop as well. The pocket of a child’s shirt curls up like a leaf or a newly-opened bud, women’s floral nighties and scarves become a part of the foliage, a lime green frock complements a leaf in the background or a deep purple shirt reflects the lights and shadows of moonlit night in the bamboo groves. Babu’s subjects are never alone (except on one or two occasions) even when he paints them as solitary objects. There are grasshoppers, dragon-flies, parakeets, macaws, monkeys and fruit-bats, which sneak into the scene or boldly pose with the human subjects. An avocado dragon-fly rests on a child’s forehead while an ruby-red one rests on a shoulder complimenting the child’s claret frock and bindi. As a young woman stares at a red and yellow bug, one realises that it is difficult to separate the flora and fauna; the thin, white antenna of a dragon-fly droops like a bough and the dragonflies merge with the curled up leaves. That is when it strikes you; the point is not to differentiate of course but to grasp nature in all its entirety. Perhaps which is why Babu finds his best muses among the Tribals of Trisshur. He was introduced to them after his brother (also an artist) married a Tribal woman. When Babu met his new relatives, he saw in them an indomitable spirit which was one with nature. There are no points of separation in a life of a jungle-dweller—the lives of every creature and tree and man are intricately woven together. While the reticent artist’s action starts with an urban process of capturing the light and darkness through his lenses, when he paints, he tries to imbibe what the Tribals feel (the oneness with the whole creation). Thus Babu’s creations reflect the sensitive tolerance and acceptance of the tribal way of life. The faces look peaceful, reflective and contemplative. Part of the peace comes from within the artist himself. The same friend who introduced Babu said that when he gets the time Babu loves to introspect and reach within himself for peace. However, as an artist, his expressions have been, on more occasions, directly impacted by the civil society. Babu was deeply affected by a singular incident in which a child was sexually exploited by a prominent religious leader. The violence meted out by the powerful and the vulnerability of the child and the unfairness of the whole situation is depicted on one of his canvases in which a grasshopper strikes at a unripe fruit while resting on a child’s forehead. The girl looks on mutely. While trying to decide on a “title” for the painting, words failed Babu. Nothing came close to describing the horror of the situation—and he left it as is. One of the reasons why all of his canvases carry just numbers. Sometimes, it is imperative for the viewer to feel more than merely see. As an artist, he implores us (the viewer) to put ourselves in the situation. As he did. His earlier paintings were more lush and green. But as he spent more hours in the company of the people he painted, his canvases became darker, and deeper shades of blue and purple started to seep into them. The indigo in Babu’s later works depicts the silence—that gap—which exists between the world of those who have embraced nature in all its beauty and terrifying colours, and the civilisation that constantly tries to breach nature to tame it. Can we understand the Tribal people at all? For K.G. Babu, the answer is an emphatic no. It is impossible to do so, as long as we are submerged in the trappings of civilisation, comfort and normality. “Urban people cannot really be like the rural or jungle dwellers. I have seen a tribal man derive happiness even from a small payment of `20. While towns seem to thrive on dissatisfaction and materialistic cravings, Tribal, jungle dwellers live in an austerity that is impossible for us to imagine. But they live a life that is so much more fulfilling, rich and content. I will not call them happy as theirs is a harsh life. But they see themselves as contented. It is a matter of discipline and inner peace which we all need to learn,” he explains. This characteristic of making the best out of every situation separates Babu’s concept of us and them and that lacuna was felt by him as well. Despite numerous interactions he could never be really one of them. As a result, he felt that unfathomable silence depicted by the deep shades of blue and indigo. The canvases of K.G. Babu shares a striking similarity with the art of Binoy Verghese, also an artist born in Kerala and now living in New Delhi. Both create canvases that are vast and lush. The canvases thrive in a solidity highlighted through subtle light and shade. As is the case with hyperrealistic images which are 10 or more times the size of a original photographic reference, both retain high-resolution of colour and detail. However, while Verghese prefers the airbrush, Babu admits that he is more at home with the brush. He loves to use acrylic which is easier to manipulate as his first base and then once he is happy with the result, he finishes off with the oil. And the result is simply glorious.