A gauze boat catches the eye, the highlight of “Voices of the Waves: Tales of Fisherfolk,” a solo exhibition by Ramani Mylavarapu at the Chitramayee State Art Gallery in Hyderabad. Five feet long and three feet high, it is the leitmotif of the entire exhibition, which depicts fishermen; pastiches of daily life, the joys and struggles of sea farming. A fishing net hangs from a boat. A collage of photographs in the shape of a fish. Scattered on the floor and around the boat are fish figurines, as well as shells and sea sand from Uppada beach in Andhra Pradesh.
An acrylic painting of a sunrise is visible in the background of the installation. “This show is essentially a recollection of childhood memories; of making paper boats and leaving them in puddles of rain,” says Hyderabad-based Ramani, who incorporates painting, crafts, photography, dance, poetry and documentary films into her show. “From the birth of the concept to the opening of the show, it took me a year and 10 trips to Kakinada. I visited all the nearby beach areas,” she recalls.
The show is intended to be a moving festival of images and colors. The artist stages a performance in the exhibition on a floor covered with saris; the saris are in different shades of blue, symbolizing the sea. She moves her hands to simulate the waves and walks back and forth with an oar to recreate the movement of a boat at high tide. She then reads her poem about the difficult life of fishermen.
“I wanted to capture both the beauty and the difficulties of their lives in words,” says the artist. During her childhood, Ramani would watch sunrises and sunsets on Uppada beach as fishermen went out to sea and returned with their daily catch. “The scenes are etched in my memory. I would return to them again and again for inspiration,” adds the artist.
The walls of the gallery are adorned with various photo performances depicting various sea-related activities like throwing a fishing net into the waves, repairing a fishing net, fish markets and more. Drone art, a new innovation that Indian artists are yet to catch up with, adds an edgy touch to ‘Voices of the Waves: Tales of Fisherfolk’.
“I captured a bird’s eye view of beaches and water, as well as installations I had set up on beaches. I wanted the fishermen to participate in the performance,” says the artist, who has worked with the indigenous tribes of the Araku Valley. “I like to interact with communities and bring their life experiences to the fore,” reveals Ramani. She has found a niche in marine metaphors where she is making waves with her show.
