The countdown to the fourth edition of Kochi Muziris Biennale (KMB 2018) has begun. On September 4, with 100 days left to go, for the opening of the art expo, an illustrated post appeared on social media announcing the big event. Three days into the numeric countdown, a playful quirky drawing where an artist’s art pops out of the canvas and imprints itself as 97 on his t-shirt, generated curiosity and delight. Since then little art snippets, caricatures unfolding a story, are stirring a delightful build up to December 12 when KMB opens.
Pune-based Sunil Nambu, the man behind the drawings, says, “I don’t know what will happen to the character finally on the opening day of the Biennale, but the sketches are garnering a good response.”
A self-taught artist, Sunil is an engineer with a love for art. Born and raised in Palakkad he was drawn toward drawing and sketching since childhood. His inspirations were his uncle, renowned playwright and caricaturist MS Namboothiri aka Thupettan and artist Namboothiri’s pencil sketches.
Sunil began drawing cartoons in the 90s, which were published in a newspaper but a job in Mumbai left him with little time to indulge in art. He went through unproductive 15 years, when he could only make little diary entries - a sketch and a written thought. Later the art in this diary inspired him to take his work seriously. His friends rallied around urging him to sketch once again. He published political cartoons combining satire, wit and comment.
Mentored also by journalist, activist CP Ramachandran who gave him copies of Punch to peruse, Sunil honed his skills further. During the 2010 football World Cup he drew a series of sketches with the ball as protagonist. “It brought in more dynamism among the enthusiasts,” he recalls. In 2012-13 he began serious political cartooning, the thought bubbles in his expression turning direct, acerbic and humorous.
The Art and Artist series that he is putting out every day has elements from the history and stories of Van Gogh, Picasso and Guernica, subjects that he has studied deeply.
In the current series the character has jumped off the canvas but might come back, guesses Sunil. It is not planned though the days to the Biennale are fixed.
Drawn on postcard sized paper, these are digitally reworked. There are plans to publish the works with narration for the opening of KMB, 2018.