Sketches of worn out lives

KOCHI: ‘The Night Passenger’ looks frazzled. ‘Worn out’ cannot be expressed in a better way. With a few strokes artist K S Dilipkumar captured the loneliness and dreariness of a passenger, who is on a long journey. His sketches are an attempt to make visible the “silent solitary cry rising from everyman”.
The sensitive drawings, which are on display at the solo show titled ‘Boarder’, captures the pain and helplessness of lonely men and women who are on the move along with time.
“Every human being is on a long journey. As we reach the fag end of this voyage, we end up wrinkled and freckled,” says Dilip. A photograph cannot convey the ecstasy, happiness and sadness of a man as much as these sketches do.
The sketches that are on display at the exhibition, which began at Durbar Hall in Kochi, are the works that he had drawn from 1991 to present. From over 500 sketches, curator Radha Gomathy helped him narrow down the number of works to the ones that are being exhibited.
Dilipkumar’s favoured medium is the pencil. He calls it the most powerful medium, and says he has absolute control over it. “I use wild strokes in my sketches, which is why most of the sketches are powerful. If even one person claim that these sketches haunt him or her, it means that I have made an impact on them as an artist.”
A lot of these sketches are 15-minute sketches. Some of the works were done in a matter of two-minutes. “I need that one moment from the people that I sketch. If I don’t sketch fast, I shall lose the moment that I wish to capture,” he said.
Dilipkumar, who hails from Palakkad, gave up his profession in journalism to pursue his passion in visual arts. His experiences and exposure to everyday lives of people living at different parts of the country and abroad coupled with his fondness for art helped in the making of these works.
The exhibition will conclude on June 13.