If you are addicted to PUBG or social media then artist Anil Kumar's paintings are something that you have to check out. Part of an art exhibition called Enchanting Colors which will be held at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath from October 11 to 13, 2019, the Mandya=based artist has done a whole series that deals with PUBG and tech addiction.
A government school teacher by day, Anil has a Master of Fine Arts degree from Sree Kalaniketan School of Art in Mysore. A few years ago, he began working as a drawing teacher in one of the government schools in Puttur in Dakshina Kannada. Anil, who specialises in realistic painting, has painted eight different paintings theme of mobile games and social media.
Talking about his thought process behind the paintings, he says, "We all are addicted to social media in one form or the other. One of my paintings is about children's addiction to PUBG and its negative impact on them. Being a teacher, I have seen children hooked to mobile phones for various reasons and I felt paintings like these would be relevant in the current times."
He goes on to explain that tech addiction goes far beyond just PUBG, "While my first painting is about PUBG and its impact, the second painting is of a man and woman that portrays how we are stuck with technology. We get on to Google or other apps when people ask us for something. Therefore, the painting portrays a man and woman who are holding mobiles in their hand but their brains are filled with different types of mobile applications and no knowledge. Another painting is of a three-year-old kid playing with different toys and a kid who is hooked on to the mobile."
The last one is of the serenly calm Gautama Buddha. When we asked him the reason behind using Gautama Buddha in this series, he says, "There is a reason behind painting the portrait of a meditating Buddha. Everyone always seeks peace of mind and this painting indicates peace. According to me, if you limit the use of mobile and social media, then life can be as peaceful as you want it to be."
Anil feels that his paintings might not change people's attitude towards just mobiles and social media but also their perspective towards modern paintings. "The exhibition is not sponsored by anyone. All the artists are from different places in Karnataka have come together and contributed to put up this exhibition. This way, we will be able to meet different people, especially artists, and know their opinion about our work," he adds.
