‘Displaced/Misplaced’ reads the title of the exhibition. Artist Shijo Jacob, whose 50 works based on the theme are on display at Kerala Lalithakala Akademi Hall in Thrissur. “I have tried to explain the concept of change in nature and its aftermath through these works,” he says.
Shijo has used a novel approach to document the change. A part of his paintings are maps collaged with images of humans, animals or other objects in nature. At first glance, those appear like architectural plans. One has to observe carefully to read between the lines. “That is what I want to happen,” says Shijo. “Development is one word that resonates in society these days. Everyone needs development and in the process, fields and mountains are levelled; mafias have been built around the trade. I am not against development. But, many times, I have felt that certain changes are imposed on us in the name of development. People are forced out of their native to live somewhere else; they are misplaced.”
The architectural plans in his works are windows that let spectators view and comprehend the change. “For long, I used work on the subject ‘body’. The idea of map struck me during my travels across Kerala. I realised how my land changes day by day. I could say that directly, but there is no novelty in it. So, I used maps and referred to various planning maps.” His 2012-work where a city plan is submerged in water with a ferry on its top became talk of the town when the flood hit the state.
His other paintings in the exhibition too points at misplacement. However, they speak the direct language. Done in acrylic, these paintings show elements of nature compressed in vessels. “It is because they have lost their natural space,” says Shijo. It can also be interpreted as those landscapes becoming memories or showpieces.
Besides the paintings, the show has two installations — In the Memory of a Tree and Displaced/Misplaced. The former one has four wooden slats placed on a wall. Each one carries picture of a tree. An axe is placed next to them. “Trees bear the brunt of development. They are being cut to level the space and for our use. And, we protest against the process by drawing images on paper, which is made from trees. Ironical, right?” he asks.
The latter contains painting of a paddy field and a map drawn on the floor. Objects related to agriculture are laid above the plan. It is the reminder of a bygone era, Shijo says, adding that through the show, he wants people to think and understand what they are losing in the course of development.
Displaced/Misplaced is on till October 27.
