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Journalism of Courage
From Manoj Kachangals perspective,the colour red stands for violence and destruction,but it is also the colour that gives beauty to delicate flowers such as palash and semul. Through his ongoing painting exhibition in the Capital,titled Sublime Lands,the artist has attempted to raise a voice against terrorism and corruption by extensively using red flowers as metaphors of evils prevailing in the society.
Son of a rural schoolteacher from Madhya Pradesh and grandson of a farmer,Kachangals love for flora and fauna is evident in the 50 paintings that have been inspired by childhood memories on his grandfathers farm. While some paintings are really huge and others are small in size,the highlight of his works is the use of bold and aggressive colours such as crimson and bright yellow that hit the viewers right in the eye.
Most of his works showcase the beauty of colourful and textured landscapes,made with the help of criss-crossing knife strokes,horizontal planes running parallel to each other and the bindu,which signifies the sun,moon and earth. Responding to the extensive use of red in his works,Kachangal says,The terrorist attack on the Parliament,the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and other attacks on the country have disturbed my mental state. The bold colour in my paintings is a voice against this violence. My message is that time has come to take aggressive action against terrorism and corruption.
Sublime Lands is on at Visual Arts Gallery,India Habitat Centre,till today.
