What is hope, if not the child of misery? What is darkness, if not the womb where light bides its time? What is life if not the amalgamation of chaos and serenity? The crucible where intention co-exists with accident, choice with helplessness, fear with courage, loss with redemption? Yusuf Arakkal’s works echo with life and all its dichotomies. Even though he has painted a plethora of creative impulses over the years, the one thing that shines through everything is his love for light. It is the light that sneaks in a dark room through the crack in a door. It is the light that shines like diamond dust in the wide eyes of a slum child and like a benediction steals over his emaciated body to warm him, hold him up, pick him out from the cess pool of poverty and oblivion. Not for Arakkal, the obvious metaphors of hope. As a bereft adolescent who left his home in Chavakkad to come to Bangalore with little more than a desire to make something of his life, he has traversed the journey from lonely railway wagons and public taps to the abundance of acclaim, creative and literal wealth. From personal experience, Arakkal knows that hope is a tenuous thing and not surprisingly, his work has almost always looked for it among the ruins of humanity.
Galerie Sara Arakkal in co-ordination with SA Fine Arts, London recently previewed Arakkal’s latest series ‘The Age Of Innocence’ which will be shown at the Galleria, The Royal Opera Arcade, London from November 19 to 24. This series demonstrates how seamlessly the artist in him dissolves in the inner worlds of his protagonists and brings them to palpable life. His subject in these paintings is a child whose miraculously alive eyes witness the world with a mixture of awe, fear and defiance. Dense textures surround him in imposing swathes but he is alert to the possibility of change, watchful and eager. His spirit is stronger than the lacks encircling him. He is a living example of potential waiting to blossom.
It is time to ask Yusuf Arakkal if painting this child is his way of resolving the pain and loneliness of his own days of struggle. He says, “All great works of art and literature are derived from personal experiences. In the early days, I was fascinated by the fashionable trends in art. But I realised that if I have to be true to myself and my creative expressions have to be valid, I must plumb into my own experience and derive my creations from it. I sure found great satisfaction and success from doing that. What I am doing now is just continuing the process. Of course, my past has something to do with the recent works. As a child, I had to go through all sort of struggle and if it reflects in this series, it is natural. But in this case, I also wanted to share what life is like for a street kid. I found it surprising that unlike the affluent children, the kids on the street are generally a happy lot. Most of the time, they are just being kids and are cheerful.’’
Does he see a paucity of emotional content in contemporary Indian art? He responds, “The emotional content in any work of art is its core. If it is missing, the work just becomes plain which is true of the majority of Indian contemporary art today. The reason for this is the lure of money and market forces. If my work reflects an emotional content, it is because I am honest in my approach.’’
And how does he respond to those who still think his work is too dark? Says Arakkal, “Those who call my work dark, refuse to see the light in it. Every human being in despair wants to overcome it and that is what the human spirit is all about. Those with a resilient spirit seldom succumb to their circumstances and ultimately see the light at the end of the tunnel. In my work, I am trying to portray such human beings. I do not like people who are weak and give up without a fight. I know many people ensconced in the comfort of their mansions but I paint those on the street for whom it is a fight for survival every day.’’
About the little protagonist of this painting, he says, “I had to do a lot of preliminary work before I began this series. My primary objective was to get the right expressions of the child which was very hard. As I seldom do preliminary drawings, I had to work everything out in my mind and later on put it all on the canvas. Though there are reasons for me to relate to this child, I did not paint him just for that reason. I saw this child walking near a construction worker's hut several times. Something about this child told me that I had to paint him. After a few days I photographed him and wanted to take some more pictures but unfortunately could not locate him as his family had moved away.’’
About the simplicity with which he has treated the child’s guileless charm, Arakkal says, “Technique wise I was very careful not to complicate things. I wanted to paint the child in a very simple way to capture his spirit.’’
And what does he want people to glean from his work? Arakkal smiles and says, “Empathy.’’
