His Sketches speak volumes of loneliness and agony

KOCHI: K  S Dilipkumar's life journey is quite interesting. After completing Bachelor of Fine Arts from College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram, he chose a career in journalism. According to him, it was a hard choice, but his love for art stood intact.

After 23 years as a journalist, Dilipkumar left it to pursue visual art and returned to his alma mater to do masters in Fine Arts. And 'Boarder', a solo show of sketches which he drew from 1991-2019, is a reflection of that passion.

“I have named the exhibition with the feel of a boarding school student,” he said. “I've travelled extensively across India while working as a journalist. Though I chose a different career after my graduation, I used to sketch whenever possible. The medium was pencil, ink, charcoal and crayon. I was never bothered about the medium or the canvas I chose,” he added.

His sketches have so much life that the emotions depicted in them are directly conveyed to the viewers. He says there is a  reason.

“I've met a lot of people while travelling. I love to capture a living moment. When we draw a model, he/she will always be conscious. But when I draw someone instantaneously, the emotions and agony get captured in my sketch. So all my works have a deep inner meaning. For this, I had to sketch so quickly, which I continuously practised from the beginning. I've also used minimal drawing in all sketches,” says Dilipkumar.

Radha Gomathy, an artist and poet based in Kochi, is the curator of the show. Dilipkumar had sent around 100 sketches to her and she picked 70 for the show. “All the sketches exhibited here features the people I met during travelling. These are the common people from Indian villages. They suffer from many agonies and are always haunted by loneliness. The theme of the sketch is the silent scream of a lonely person. Through my sketches, I wanted to communicate the distress faced by Indian people.”

He says the sketches will continue to haunt any person who visits the show. “Last day, a woman came to see the show. Just before leaving, she wanted to take a photograph of a particular sketch. The response has been really good that I even got accolades from eminent artists. A solo show is a landmark in an artist's career. I can proudly say my show has been a success and I firmly believe I'll never fail in art,” he said.
He says doing masters with the current generation has helped him realise the new trends and styles in drawing. 'Boarder' is being exhibited at Durbar Hall Art Gallery. The show will conclude on Thursday.