SHINOD AKKARAPARAMBIL

Shinod received the Honourable Mention Award for “Realm of Infinite space 1' instituted by the

 Kerala Lalithakala Akademi, 2017.  

Naveena Vijayan 

Writer, Blogger and Journalist, The Hindu

One hundred and sixteen dogs. Painted using watercolours, the dog series is close to artist Shinod Akkaraparambil’s heart. When he was in Class VI, Akkaraparambil recalls with a shudder, he was chased by a street dog through his hometown in Kerala. He climbed a tree, but his legs were still within the canine’s reach. The pain of the bite ceased in a few days, but the fear stayed for many years. “Until I came to Chennai in 2008, and saw people showing so much love towards the animal hugging them, feeding them biscuits…” Today, the fear has given way to a nagging thought that Akkaraparambil can’t seem to find an answer to: “Why do people use the dog as a swear word?” And this question led the artist to begin something that he can’t stop now. “I keep waking up in the middle of the night with the picture of a street dog in my mind and translate it into canvas using watercolour. I started working on it in 2014, and I am not sure when I will stop.” 

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/scaffold-art-show-returns-to-chennai/articleshow/58909163.cms

Realm of Infinite space'  Gallery view

Sujeeth kumar Sreekandan 

Artist and curator

Human tends to differentiate between the two extremes calling a person, ‘dog’ as a negative term and at the same time beholding it as his favorite pet. This imposes on the human character, jeopardy.

Shinod is always afraid of dogs but lately has shown a tendency of softening and caring towards the same.

It can be heard very much colloquial, swearing “Dog”, the fellow humans. The stray dogs have given me the idea of using them as my metaphor. At certain places, the same dog is considered a god and has temples.

What would be the reason behind it? Is it the fear factor that created the extreme polarities in humans towards the co-existing animal? It almost shares the same space and environment as we humans do.

 Shinod works questions this complexity and tried to interrogate the mindset with each stroke and figure. Does it differentiate human beings, being not an animal? Each figure in the work talks about the characters and features of his thoughts, perception of the fellow animal.

I don't want to swear you Watercolour on Saunders Waterford 35 x 27 Inch, 635 gsm, 2017 

Shinod’s I don’t want to swear you is a collection of 162 watercolor paintings of dogs on canvas. Was he always a canine lover? Quite the contrary. “I was bitten by a dog once when I was a child and have hated dogs ever since. Only when I came to Chennai, I have learned to take care of dogs. I am now more confident about treating dogs.” In these simple creatures, Shinod found a metaphor for human hypocrisy. “Dog is a swear word and also a loved pet! That is how the society contradicts about dogs,” he said.   

Shinod is a 42-year-old Chennai-based artist and illustrator who is known for his watercolor paintings like The Holy Anomaly, Point Blank 365, and Of Human Bondage among many others.  

Realm of Infinite space 2, Watercolour on Saunders Waterford 22 x 30 Inch, 635 gsm, 2016