Important Notice

"Shibu Natesan’s imagery emanates out of deep respect and awareness of humanist issues. The early years in Marxist Kerala, close reading of Latin American and African literature, and progressive Indian and international cinema have been crucial in defining his idiom…Natesan’s work has been viewed as a site – a place wherein incidents, removed from their historical position/space are re-posited and presented within static and psychologically... "Shibu Natesan’s imagery emanates out of deep respect and awareness of humanist issues. The early years in Marxist Kerala, close reading of Latin American and African literature, and progressive Indian and international cinema have been crucial in defining his idiom…Natesan’s work has been viewed as a site – a place wherein incidents, removed from their historical position/space are re-posited and presented within static and psychologically loaded tableaux. The artist chooses never to make a direct comment on his subject – instead, he allows circumstantial details associated with the event/incident to reveal the underlying story, the unaired nuance" (Anupa Mehta, "Apocalypse Now", India 20: Conversations with Contemporary Artists, Mapin Publishing, Ahmedabad, 2007, p. 171).

Every aspect of the present lot is unsettling. In this forest scene, Natesan has painted a naked figure, awkwardly seated on a raised chair, clutching his head in pain while backing the viewer. In addition, the artist depicts two rams below him, as out of place in the midst of the dense foliage as the figure, yet staring unblinkingly out of the frame. "The overall evocation [in Natesan’s works] is that of a tense climate, both internal and external. This uneasy juxtaposition and emotional distancing allows the artist to speak eloquently about conflict and violence within the human context" (Ibid.).

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