The House of Baithak collective – a group of five Kerala-based artists – did not come together because they all belong to God’s own country, but because they are bound by their art's focus on inherent ideas and the thought processes behind their creations. The solo exhibitions by Asha Nair, Anupama Rajiv, Prasanth KP, Dr Aswathy Raveendran and Dr Mayera Suman will be on display at Telangana State Art Gallery between March 25 and 29. When you see their art, you are struck with the ideas that their paintings try to communicate or not communicate.
Anupama Rajiv experiments across ceramics, pottery and painting, viewing the canvas as an extension of life energy and thinking patterns. In her exhibition, ‘Lives Entwined’, one work depicts a group of women relaxing by a stream: one bathes, others lounge in stress-free postures, fully immersed in their private moment. These women wouldn’t have faces, maybe they don’t need them during that engrossed feeling. The absence of faces underscores their complete engagement and contentment—no identity needed when presence is total.
Another painting shows a bride in quiet contemplation. Her wide eyes gaze outward, yet reveal nothing specific; a pattern of shadow veils her face, deepening the intrigue. Marriage entwines two lives, but for a woman, it often means entering an unfamiliar world. What occupies her thoughts? The ambiguity invites viewers to linger and ponder. “I don’t premeditate,” Anupama explains. “I start painting and let it follow my flow of thought. It evolves naturally, and I stop when it feels right. My art is simply what I think.”
Dr Mayera Suman focuses on life’s small details, using bold contrasts. Her collection, ‘The Fly’, centres on flies across every piece. In one vibrant red-background painting, a fly would be flying while a herd of cattle watches impassively. Why notice such a tiny thing? Mayera poses the question without answering—is attention to small details enriching or distracting? Another work features two foreground chimps, nearly smiling, one pointing at the bee with delight. In the background, the same chimp appears shaded to emphasise joy. Unlike the indifferent cattle, the chimps seem uplifted by the insect’s presence—perhaps because apes are playful, happy beings. “We all notice small things in life,” Mayera says. “I don’t know if it’s good or bad. Viewers should find their own meaning.”
Prasanth KP draws deeply from Kerala’s waterscapes, especially Vembanad Lake near his home. In his collection, ‘Vembanad’, his watercolours and acrylics capture fleeting impressions of nature and daily life with a traveller’s sensitivity and restrained palettes. They evoke the rhythms of fishing communities, drifting birds, subtle aquatic ecologies, and water’s shifting moods—from serene dawn to reflective dusk. Rooted in lived intimacy rather than distant observation, his works portray an interconnected harmony of people, labour, and nature in the backwaters, drawing viewers into quiet narratives of calm endurance.
Asha Nair’s exhibition, ‘Footprints’, celebrates two decades of devotion through lyrical acrylics exploring Kerala’s sacred cultural and spiritual realms. Her ethereal, luminous paintings capture the ritualistic fire of Theyyam, the graceful drama of Kathakali, and the shadowed sanctity of Sarpa Kavu serpent groves, where nature and divinity intertwine. She honours quiet resilience: a temple attendant lighting lamps in pandemic silence, a percussionist’s heartbeat driving festive energy, majestic tuskers, and tranquil coastal horizons. Through evocative strokes, her art conjures petrichor, flickering ceremonial lamps, and eternal drum rhythms, inviting immersion in Kerala’s timeless, interconnected soul.
For Dr Aswathy Raveendran, nature is paramount. Her collection, ‘Mist and Memory’, presents intricate, lush forest landscapes in oil and acrylic. Rain-kissed, moss-covered forest, white-barked trees on hill shoulders and detailed flora and fauna come alive on canvas. With meticulous attention to colour, form and texture, she evokes a profound sense of oneness with the wilderness. Viewers are drawn into the heart of the wild, experiencing its beauty and mystery firsthand, as if the forest’s untold stories unfold directly before them.
