Artists to restore their faded wall paintings

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Six years ago, a few artists painted some walls of the city in hues of red, yellow, green and blue — frames that throw light on the history of the Travancore dynasty and popular attractions in the city — under the Arteria programme, a joint initiative of the District Tourism Promotion Council and Department of Tourism. But over the years, harsh weather partially or completely destroyed these works of art. Now, the same artists have once again come together to restore the paintings.

According to Ajith Kumar G, curator of Arteria, the renovation is being done as part of the third phase of the project. “Some of the works have started to fade and the plaster on the walls is peeling off. The aim of the programme is to restore the paintings which have been partially or completely damaged over these years due various reasons such as weather or vandalism,” he says.

The renovation works are being undertaken at a cost of Rs 12.5 lakh. Walls around the University stadium, Chandrasekharan Nair stadium, Mascot Hotel, corporation and museum were turned into canvases. Twenty-five artists, including Kanayi Kunhiraman, B D Dathan, Chandran T V, Robert Lopez, Prasannakumar, Tensing Joseph, Mohanan Nedumangadu, Sunil Kovalam, Sreelal K S, Jubeena, Nandan P V, Rachana, Sunil Vallarpadam were part of the project which was done in two phases in 2015 and 2016. The third phase of the work was inaugurated by Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran at LMS Junction on Friday. 

“This time, a few of the artists will be overseeing the restoration works while others will be working directly on their artworks to bring it back to its original form,” said Ajith. However, he highlights that the most challenging part is matching the colour from original paintings done years ago. “The works done on the boundary walls of Kanakakunnu Palace need complete restoration since these have been badly damaged,” said the curator.

While artist Dathan’s works are celebration of art, Kattoor Narayana Pillai’s works portray the cultural richness of the soil on the walls. “Two of my works have been displayed as part of the project. One is at the boundary wall of Kanakakunnu Palace, exploring the history of the Travancore dynasty and the other is at University Stadium which speaks about the architectural marvels of the city,” said Sreelal, an artist who is directly restoring his work.