Important Notice

The present lot is a part of Surendran Nair’s long-standing series titled Cuckoonebulopolis that he has worked on since the end of 1999. The term is borrowed from The Birds, a comedy by 4th century BC Greek playwright Aristophanes. “The city of birds is an oblique reference to the quest for utopia. Titles and subtitles, with references ranging over European literature and Sanskrit poetry, beckon interpretation.” (Amrita Jhaveri,... The present lot is a part of Surendran Nair’s long-standing series titled Cuckoonebulopolis that he has worked on since the end of 1999. The term is borrowed from The Birds, a comedy by 4th century BC Greek playwright Aristophanes. “The city of birds is an oblique reference to the quest for utopia. Titles and subtitles, with references ranging over European literature and Sanskrit poetry, beckon interpretation.” (Amrita Jhaveri, A Guide to 101 Modern and Contemporary Indian Artists, Mumbai: India Book House, 2005, p. 137)

Nair’s vibrant paintings are influenced by classical imagery and mythology, as well as contemporary styles, kitsch, and pop culture. 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 plays a central role in Nair’s art, stemming from his childhood exposure to Kathakali dance performances, and many of his works depict male figures as though posing in a play.

According to Ranjit Hoskote, Nair’s “fascination with the ceremonial of theatre is manifest: we see it in his evocation of the ritual of making up and presenting oneself in a persona, literally the mask of another personality; in the gestures of self-transformation that his characters perform, allowing for passage from one shape or identity to another; and in the ensemble action of animated visual image and stimulating text that characterises his paintings.” (Ranjit Hoskote, “The Openness of Secrecy: Soliloquy and Conversation in the Art of Surendran Nair,” Itinerant Mythologies: Surendran Nair, Mumbai: Sakshi Gallery, 2008, p. 8)

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. This is evident in the present lot where the male figure embodies the iconic temptress Mohini, who is Vishnu’s sole female avatar. However, Nair adds his own unique spin as well by mixing a layer of kitsch because “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)

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