Important Notice

"I was never religious, but I always loved the artistic works of the religious imagination."
- SURENDRAN NAIR

Surendran Nair's monumental paintings straddle the line between traditional and contemporary imagery, containing a multitude of references ranging from classical mythology and literature, to pop culture and current politics. Imbued with his unique sense of humour, they are gentle subversions of expected symbols,... "I was never religious, but I always loved the artistic works of the religious imagination."
- SURENDRAN NAIR

Surendran Nair's monumental paintings straddle the line between traditional and contemporary imagery, containing a multitude of references ranging from classical mythology and literature, to pop culture and current politics. Imbued with his unique sense of humour, they are gentle subversions of expected symbols, resulting in a pictorial language that produces entirely new cultural meanings. Theatre and theatrical elements are central to Nair's art, which stems from his childhood exposure to Kathakali dance performances. Many of his works depict male figures posed as actors as if preparing for a play, as seen in the present lot. Here, a nude figure of a man wearing only socks and sneakers is depicted carrying plastic shopping bags. He dons headphones whose wire winds around his arms and connects to his navel.

Drawing from the imagery of the Vishwarupa, or the cosmic form associated with Vishnu and his avatar Krishna, and its many manifestations, Nair often portrays his male subjects in stances borrowed from sacred iconography. In the present lot, the male figure embodies the iconic form and expression of the Jain Tirthankara, a spiritual figure who has attained eternal salvation. Nair's ironic subversion of this image suggests that far from being enlightened, the figure is weighed down by consumerist desires. This is further emphasised through clever wordplay in the title "thINNER Voice," or "The Inner Voice" - a characteristic device in the artist's works. "From the classical, I take the icon, its aura of monumentality. But I mix this with...kitsch...For me, the artist must play the part of the vidushaka of Sanskrit theatre, who performs various roles and is also the privileged commentator and the buffoon." (Artist quoted in Gayatri Sinha ed., Voices of Change: 20 Indian Artists, Mumbai: The Marg Foundation, 2010, p. 61) The present lot is part of a long-standing series titled Cuckoonebulopolis that Nair has worked on since the early 2000s. Borrowing the term from The Birds, a comedy by 4th century BC Greek playwright Aristophanes, the works in this series, including the present lot, refer to Cloud-Cuckoo-Land, a utopian city built by birds, and the modern interpretation of the term as a foolish and impractical state of idealism.

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