Between soliloquy 038; conversation

8220;We enjoy our shared passion for art. It never threatens either of our painterly worlds,8221; says the Baroda-based artist. It8217;s the first time a usually private Nair is showing a personal collection of early sketches along with his large oils. The display has been lovingly overseen by Rodwittiya. These sketches, she informs, are not for sale.

8220;In the early days, I was a fanatic about sketching portraits. I would always carry a sketch pad around and we got our friends from the College of Fine Arts, Trivandrum, to sit for us when we did not have a model,8221; recalls Nair whose first sketch, done in 1976, is also part of the collection. Some humorous sketches of Rodwittiya, like Rekha with a Mosquito and Rekha Drawing her Drawing are warm and jocular, not idealising the woman who has been central to his life. Nair displays a zest for life through his sketches, in times when 8220;paltry allowances barely stretched to the end of the month8221;.

The powerful lines, the in-jokes and the ability to capture likeness without being slavishly realistic, are Nair8217;s highlights.

8220;I am glad for the vigour of youth8212;it honed my skills as a painter. However, I stopped sketching in the late 8217;80s since I discovered that it became a 8216;feel-good space8217;. I was avoiding my difficulties while discovering painting,8221; says the 52-year-old painter, who moved on to create the most intriguing paintings, with hybrid animals, imaginary landscapes and personalised interpretations of myths.

8220;I have been doing a series of works collectively called Cuckoonebulopolis, based on a rather loose idea of Utopia. However, they are not meant to be arguments for or against Utopia8212;there is a problem with the manner in which Utopia idealises the future, just as in the way nostalgia idealises the past,8221; says Nair thoughtfully.

The current body of four large canvases interrogates the rampant nature of violence, the craving for secularity and religious intolerance. 8220;Of course, none of this is direct but through the revisiting of myths,8221; says Nair whose paintings are often like puzzles that require piecing together, with an eye on mythology.

Sample, Further adventure of Zeus: Nemesis8217;s whispering shudder8212;the doctrine of the forest, Cuckoonebulopolis. It draws on a Greek myth: the chase between Athena and Zeus. Each of them took on the forms of several animals to avoid the other. The narrative of the pursued and pursuer is clear as is the language of disguises. Nair8217;s wolf in sheep8217;s clothing takes on the forms of many exotic animals found in the African Prairies and Indian jungles.

What if viewers do not get his references to the myths? 8220;Well there many ways of reading a work of art,8221; he says.

As critic Ranjit Hoskote says, 8220;Nair regards painting as no less interactive a medium than installation or digital interface: a coded yet inviting communication8221;.