This artwork attempts to show Chennai over the years, featuring 49 iconic buildings that are home to the city
This artwork attempts to show Chennai over the years, featuring 49 iconic buildings that are home to the city
Chennai-born artist Mohan Krishnan celebrates Madras Week this year by capturing the essence of the city in a collage with Chennai’s most iconic buildings.
As an artist and a documentary filmmaker, 60-year-old Mohan has been sketching since childhood.
Although he has not taken any formal training, he was fond of sketching Chennai since childhood. “I recently studied contemporary art during the COVID-19 lockdown. During that time, I did some oil paintings, botanical sketches, a series on steam engines and travel sketches,” he says.
Set against a yellow background, an A2 sized collage print on 175 g paper called Chennai Shining, combines both Madras and Chennai harmoniously.
Krishnan says, “The yellow background represents the hot and bright weather here. In the collage, I have included a total of 49 venues like Marina Beach, Chepauk Stadium, Kapaleeswarar Temple, St. Andrew’s Church in Egmore, Roxy Theater (demolished) . , Airport, University of Madras, Madras Port, Light House and LIC Building: Basically, showing Chennai through time.”
These are the places that attracted him visually.
Most of these places were included because of their childhood connection. “The Madras University building has a special meaning to me as I used to spend a lot of time browsing through its library. Anna Nagar and Vivekananda House beaches are special to me. We used to spend so much time on the beach as kids. In the old days, the town tower area used to be our playground. And I added a light house in Sathome because I grew up near the beach.”
Krishnan says it was difficult to sketch Chennai Shining because he used pen and ink. “I didn’t do any foundation drawing with pencil. I sketch directly with pen and hence there was no room for errors and corrections. ,
Although this is his first attempt to present Chennai in poster form, the artist has made several documentaries over the years. These include documentaries on the Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Chennai Through Time, Panjim City to name a few. All his documentaries are available on his YouTube channel, BoxKite Films.
He is currently working on his next collage, Divine Kanchi. “It will be completed in about six months,” he says, adding that it will show the ancient temples of Kancheepuram in a similar pattern. “But it will take a slightly different kind of sketching because temples require a different approach. The sketches will be oriented according to the architecture and sculptures,” he added.