The world of artistry and painting is one in which many possibilities come alive. Be it about traversing the human body ten times over, or journeying down an imaginary road, a paper and paint make it all come together. For the artists who make it a part of their life quest to depict strong emotions and the what-ifs in between possibilities, the world is only a big playhouse. And such beautiful navigation can be ardently noticed in the art of Anupama.
Holding an MFA in Painting from S N School of Arts and Communication, University of Hyderabad, Anupama Alias has been actively revolutionizing the narrative around women and their bodies, one artwork at a time. Her pictorial study is aimed at decoding what lies between the transitional phrases of a life of a woman, what characterises her person when she is nothing more than a girl, and yet, the most womanly she has ever been.
Mainly based in Kerala , Anupama’s artworks typically see the use of mixed media to project her deepest observations. Involved in a lot of exhibitions and showcases, the appeal of her work lies not in its universality but in the minute attributes that make us different from each other.
Decoding her art: Influence and Present Works by Anupama Alias
For the unmissable masks donned by the feminine bodies in most of her artworks, Anupama refers to have taken pointers from African masks. As a recipient of the Sankara Menon Memorial Gold Medal, Lalit Kala Akademi, Kerala (2016), the Special Mention Award by Kerala Lalit Kala Akademi (2018) and a Diamond Jubilee Fellowship from the Department of Cultural Affairs, Kerala (2019), her own cultural influences also stand apparent in her work.
The mask used in Theyyam, a ritual art form practised in Kerala, has also provided the food for her thought process (from her interview with Feminism in India). Masking allows for a conversation between shared identities, masking can also be something that sets apart the masked individual. There is a shift in the narrative observed, and it can be also regarded as what can be considered as history from below. As the subject of her previous art collections, the dominance of the female centric gaze or what is important to women, lies at the centre of her work.
In recent years, however, Anupama Alias, has been focusing on the connection between human beings and nature, of the dream sequence that allows oneself to visit places that they have never been to and rediscover the connections between the native land and landscapes traversed in between childhood stories. It is hard not to imagine Coleridge’s fantastical Kubla Khan where many a world come together and the same amalgamation makes up the heart of Anupama Alias. Make sure to keep up with the artist on Instagram to get timely updates on gallery exhibitions.
