Important Notice

Lot 69

“A central part of my painting practice involves the quest for a resonant image that refuses to be read directly and which obliges the viewer to make an interpretation. The invitation given to the viewer to take an active stance in relation to the painting is often a political one even when the subject matter is not obviously so. I am concerned with political events and figures from world history which through visual exploration can be read as... “A central part of my painting practice involves the quest for a resonant image that refuses to be read directly and which obliges the viewer to make an interpretation. The invitation given to the viewer to take an active stance in relation to the painting is often a political one even when the subject matter is not obviously so. I am concerned with political events and figures from world history which through visual exploration can be read as both a questioning of India’s national issues as well as addressing our global situation. It is the location of an image in time, place and context whilst allowing it to go beyond this that is an important aspect of my work” (Shibu Natesan, Each One Teach One, Sakshi Gallery exhibition catalogue, 2007).

This 1998 canvas is Natesan’s meditation on Ska, a genre of music that originated in Jamaica in the 1950s and soon became popular in the United Kingdom and United States. Though there are many versions or ‘waves’ of Ska, it has always been a politically charged genre associated with the celebration of freedom and equality, whether political or social. Inspired by the Jamaican band the Skatellites, Natesan plays up the juxtaposition of their rhythmic music with its deeper ideology in this piece. Appropriating musical history, the artist uses a seemingly innocuous image to push his viewers to interrogate the freedoms they assume they possess in today’s heavily monitored global society. In doing so, Natesan anchors this image of musicians in a specific spatial and temporal context, but also allows it to transcend that location in its effect on each viewer.

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