The Face As Inner Mirror

Sculptor EG Chithra’s work at the ‘Time Devoured’ exhibition is about her own face after she became bald

Photos: by Ratheesh Sundaram

By Shevlin Sebastian
Artist PV Nandan stares intensely at EG Chithra's sculpture, a self-portrait. “The eyes look sad, but the lips are determined,” he says. “There is a coiled energy in the face.” He caresses the bald head, which is on display at the 'Time Devoured' exhibition, held recently, at the Durbar Hall Art Gallery in Kochi. “It is an impressive work,” he says. “Although there are very few women sculptors in Kerala, Chithra is one of the best.”
Chithra's work, titled, 'Yes, I believe that this is something special', has a back story. At 6 p.m., on March 26, last year, she walked into the Aspinwall House, at Fort Kochi during the Kochi Biennale. Chithra was wearing a floor-length maroon gown, held an empty earthen pot in her hands, and had three dolls hanging on her back. She reached an area where a circle had been marked, with white chalk, on the ground.She is also making a mark with her works. But the artist stumbled on to sculpting by accident. When she applied to do a course in painting at the RLV College of Music and Fine Arts, in the suburb of Tripunithara, there were no seats. Instead, there was an opening in sculpture. So she opted for it and was able to complete the four-year course.
But life is not easy for this full-time artist, whose husband is a painter. “There are only a handful of artistes in Kerala who can live by selling their works,” she says. “The works of painters are not selling, so you can imagine the plight of sculptors.”
She has been able to make ends meet by being an occasional lecturer on art at different colleges, including her alma mater, RLV College. Thus far, Chithra has done about fifteen sculptures. One eye-catching one is of a woman lying supine, in mid-air, with her long flowing hair pointing towards the ground.
Most days, both husband and wife work in a rented studio at Fort Kochi. “I am living my passion, so I am happy, no matter the difficulties,” says Chithra. 

(Sunday Magazine, The New Indian Express, South India and Delhi)