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Abstraction attracts

Of Jacob Jebraj's latest series of works titled `Juxtapose'

FINE USE OF COLOUR One of Jacob Jebraj's works

Viewing the works of Jacob Jebraj within the serenity of his studio at the Cholamandal Artists Village was a refreshing experience. Jacob is showcasing his fine prints, which he describes as part of the graphic process namely "Heat Engraving/Screen Printing". The exhibition titled `Juxtapose' translates music into form and space.

Jacob is an alumnus of the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai. He carries within his sensibility the influence of the Madras Art Movement particularly in its decorative qualities, the play of line and a predilection for experimentation in all media, since he could not escape its vitiating influence living in Cholamandal and surrounded by veterans of the movement. The line as an element has great significance for Jacob since it is subconsciously nurtured through exposure partially to works of Ramanujam, Paniker and others.

Jacob in his earlier works indulged in using metal support and exploring its surface through printing, painting, repoussing in which choreographic line becomes a dominant centrality. Through these series of experiments over the past few years, he hasmastered his medium, style and expression, leaving behind influences of early western modern masters to strike a trajectory that is his own. From his earlier series of Dragonflies to his Forms and Space to these fine prints, Jacob has sensitively travelled the road to emerge with these abstractions.

The forms, imagery, texture, imprints of his body parts and delicate traceries of his brushstrokes in these series evoke the sights and sounds of the local culture.

These aural and visual traces imprinted within his subconscious perceptively merge as music of forms and space. The post-modern sensibility of the artist anchors him to his local culture, dynamically imprinting his works and colouring his vision to create striking forms.

Colours of the seasons

At a glance, his works hardly reveal the intimate engagement with his environment. They appear decorative because of the engagement with a variety of textures skilfully manipulated with his technique and enhanced by the impressions of the CD discs.

His prints evoke a romantic conception of the four seasons, particularly in their colour choreography, from wintry browns to spring greens to autumn reds and oranges to summery yellows.

The juxtaposition of these hues and shades creates a staccato rhythm, generating movement akin to a capricious dance of Nature.

In this series, Jacob has created unique prints craftily employing the technology at his disposal of heat gun, serigraphy, CD disks and cad programmes. Though Jacob has not duplicated or reproduced any of his works, the duplication remains in the consistent use of similar imagery appearing many times over in his prints.

These works are referred to as prints because he goes through the tedious and time-consuming process of creating images in serigraphy and transposing them on his paper at the right place with the appropriate colours. The many layers with which he works to create and express his artistic intent, is almost cathartic.

As he works, he simultaneously lives through many experiences deeply embedded in his subconscious and emerging in the form of diverse imagery. If the artist is making reference to music, it is not the pure magical aural experience; rather, it is the music of life lived and contested, evolved through personal experiences and memories, to mark his signpost.

The exhibition is on till July 15, at Miracle Studio, 2/138, Cholamandal Artist Village, Injambakkam.

ASHRAFI S. BHAGAT

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