Painting of Kalamandalam Gopi by Mopsang Valath. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
When, in early 2024, Kathakali maestro Kalamandalam Gopi or Gopi Ashan, as he is fondly called, was approached for a project for Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) that would showcase him, the 87-year-old Were excited about it. The project involved capturing on canvas the Navarasas (nine emotions) as interpreted by Gopi. “He didn’t need any convincing, he was ready for it. His only condition was that we would do it after the monsoon started,” says Mopsang Valath, the artist appointed to execute the paintings.
The idea is the brainchild of Vaikom Rajasekharan, author of Attakathas (Kathakali Stories), was to depict the experienced Kathakali actor in full make-up. “There are many pictures of Gopi Aashan’s Navras but without holiday (makeup/mask in Kathakali dance); This series of paintings is probably the first of its kind,” Mopsang said over phone from Kottayam, where he lives.
Nine paintings installed at the business jet terminal of Cochin airport will be formally unveiled in December. The medium of the three by three feet works is acrylic. Mopsang, who also paints using watercolours, says the acrylic colors reflect the vibrancy and vibrancy of Kathakali. He explained his reason for using acrylic colours. “Watercolors are soft. This can be done but framing it with glass (as watercolor paintings should be) will take time. Reflection of light on glass… There are many factors to consider.
Mopsang Valath in his studio. Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The 67-year-old self-taught artist says he was excited about the project when he started work in June 2024. The task meant first photographing the gopis as they demonstrated the nine emotions, the cornerstone of classical Indian dance. Mopsang along with Rajasekaran, photographer Shaji Mulukkaran, make-up artist Kalamandalam Sivaraman and costumer Kalamandalam Manish traveled to Mundur, Thrissur, where he lives.
Sharing a tidbit of information, Mopsang says, “Aashan is very particular about vacation And Kalamandalam Sivaraman does so. So we took him with us from Palakkad.
Instead of posing for pictures, Gopi put on a performance to capture the Navarasa. “The ‘stage’ was a short distance from his house. We arranged for shooting there. It was a kind of mini performance for us. The feelings of hope fly towards the past, catching them is the challenging part. Coincidentally, he was the first person I photographed when I bought a new Canon camera several years ago. But for this series I could not photograph them or rather I could not muster the courage to photograph them. This is very special!” Mopsang did not work on any other projects during his term of office. The stunning paintings are so close to life that they could be mistaken for photographs. Only after looking closely one realizes that these are paintings.
“It wasn’t something one could do mechanically, or at least I didn’t want to do it.” He listened to Kathakali music while painting to come to this field. They had to choose the ‘best’ nine photographs from over 600 photographs taken that day. “The painting work took about five months. While working on them I was in a different zone. Ashaan’s presence filled my studio. In the almost 20 years that I have been an artist, I have made about 50,000 paintings, including Kathakali, I have not experienced anything like this. Mopsang Paints also began work for hotels, commercial spaces and individuals.
The paintings will be formally unveiled in December.
published – November 29, 2024 12:58 PM IST
