Between One Shore And Several Others
(Election Symbols)
38 X 51cm each (set of 30)
Edition 1 of 3
Painted Embossed Copper
2018
Sculpture
Colour me red, blue, green or saffron,
Try and win my heart
Almost never to be seen
You appear to me rarer than the blue moon.
Yet with sickle, lotus and palm of trust
You try and lure me, shamelessly woo me
All to meet your convoluted goals
I see, I hear, I shudder with disgust.
You the harbinger of democracy
Play your cards of caste and creed
Sometimes you fail; more often you succeed
Convinced you’ve fooled me with your hypocrisy.
I see it now; I see it all, clear as day
You colour me in varied hues, not to unite
Your games, they’re only meant to divide
A billion strong into a million pieces.
In India, national general elections are finally upon us. Vivek Vilasini ’s work herein, is a scathing commentary on our current predicament.
Depicting India, bitterly torn apart into hundreds of pieces by multiple political parties that reside within her. How diverse political ideologies, concentrate more on caste, creed, religion and region instead of the welfare of its members. Red, symbolising his Marxist bent of mind, while copper depicts the gullibility of Indian masses and their herd mentality.
This work is part of an ongoing series of paintings, artwork and photographs created by the artist. He delves into the definition of ‘identity’ and how it is constantly evolving and morphing into newer paradigms due to constant local and global exposure. The motive of this series is to promote the idea of inter-play of cultural, social, geographical and historical backgrounds of various identities.
Vivek Vilasini is an observer and chronicler of sorts. Born in 1964 in Thrisur, Kerala, he is an extremely talented, nationally and internationally celebrated contemporary artist, having held several solo exhibitions both in India and abroad. Through his works he tries to subtly critique the state of affairs that he observes around him in society, in arts or politics. He does this using several media that he seems to have mastered over the years.
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