Tales of Taiwan in Ink

KOCHI: Ajoy Kumar, a Thiruvananthapuram-based artist has brought his latest series of drawings to Kochi. In the exhibition which is taking place at the Nanappa art gallery, he has displayed  23 ink drawings.

All the drawings are inspired by the scenes from the local market in Taiwan and the people there. For the past five years, Ajoy has been working in a game development company at Taiwan where he has specialised in concept art for games and animation.

A student of artist T Kalandharan, Ajoy studied at the Kerala Kalapeetom, Kochi. Ajoy says that art never left him wherever he went. He says, “In any region, if you want to get an idea of the local people and their everyday life, you should visit the local markets. I went to the market area in Taiwan and sketched drawings of people buying and selling vegetables and fruits.” All the work was done by the artist during the weekends.

He says, “Whenever I used to get time, I would go to the markets before 7 a.m., as it is the best time when you can see people near the harbour selling vegetables and fruits and other things in their small boats. This scene has always caught my attention. So, I decided to capture it in the form of drawings.”
The medium used is ink and whitener. Ajoy says,”I always like experimenting with different things and I have also done pen and acrylic paintings, too. For these drawings, I have used the marker as the medium and the effect can be seen in the work.”

Ajoy has participated in group exhibitions and art camps conducted in different parts of the country as well as abroad. He has also taken part in exhibitions in Abu Dhabi. Incidentally, this is his fifth solo exhibition.
Asked about his future plans he says he has always has been passionate about paintings, caricatures and illustrations. “I was always interested in doing sketches,” he says. “I am planning to bring out a travelogue where I will include the illustrations and caricatures done during my travels.”