Nostalgia driven artist KR Santhana Krishnan gives the city a sneak peek into the other side of his native village through an unusual art form

Reminiscence for artist KR Santhana Krishnan has taken an unusual form. Raised in Kumbakonam in Tamil Nadu and now based in Chennai he recalls spacious houses and entrances that were a mark of the people who resided in the premises.
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On his way and back on bicycle to his college from the Agraharam (a village or street traditionally inhabited by Tamil Brahmins) to Swamimalai, a small town where he first began learning art, he would be fixated at the many doors that came in his path.
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What fascinated him to doors and the world within especially was the fact that there was a startling difference in the way the open doorways would look in the morning and evening light. "Besides laden memories of the past, doors provide a magical view I wanted to capture", says Krishnan.

Having first started in the year 1996, for a final year project as a part of his graduation in fine arts, Santhana has been painting doors on canvas and mixed media. The count now touches 800, and sure enough there is no stopping him. Some of his works have been inspired by Bengali artist Sanjay Bhattacharya's painting of Kolkata and doors there.

When doors talked art

With a group display in the city called Dakshin, Art of the Deep South, Krishnan is showing a series of 13 doors of mixed media on wood along with other Tamil Nadu artists like Sivabalan and Elayaraja. "I completed these works over a period of six months.
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The time I take for a piece depends on my mood usually. I stay in my studio all-day and work early in the mornings. Those are the best times to work, when there is peace and calm around," says Krishnan. "I have first displayed my works in Bangalore in the year 1996, which was also my first public show," he adds.

Art as a career was never really a second option to him. "I used to look at the fine arts college in Kumbakonam and imagine myself there. By the time I reached the 10th grade I had decided on it and told my parents I would be joining painting school," says Krishnan.

Flashback mode

The works remind you of a bygone era with their intricacies and the colours take you back in time and back to the Agraharams where the entrance to a house was of utmost significance.

"My work outlines a strong sense of nostalgia. Older people identify the doors as a part of homes in villages they have been exposed to and younger people look at them as a different mode of art," Krishnan explains.

At Kynkyny Art Gallery, Infantry Road
On till September 7, 10 am to 7 pm
Call 4092 6202