The inauguration of Razi Muhammad’s art exhibition ‘I Think Therefore I Am Confused’ was conducted by the renowned poet Dr. Ratheesh Krishna at the Berth Art Gallery in Mattancherry, Kochi. Ratheesh Krishna remarked that art is a self-illuminating phenomenon and that Razi is an artist who shines timelessly. Film director T. K. Rajeev Kumar expressed that Razi is a modern artist who quickly adapted to modernity and advanced ahead of it. Art historian and curator Latha Kurian also extended her wishes.
“The present generation is passing through a deluge of visuals. Life is so fast that beautiful scenes are swiped away without being properly seen. People who come to the gallery take pictures on their phones before viewing the artworks. These all become matchbox-sized images on the phone. Thus, the world of snapshots has trivialized the world of seeing,” said the artist Razi. He attempts through his paintings to discover the subtleties of everyday occurrences among us and transform them into a resistance against the shadows that loom. The paintings created before the Palestine-Israel war and the images of fish suffocating in the Periyar river have turned into Razi’s predictions for the current times. Razi is unwilling to name or explain any of his paintings. He wishes for his works to have exchange value beyond literature.
Razi, who graduated from Thiruvananthapuram Fine Arts College, M.S. University in Baroda, and Pune Film Institute, has also demonstrated his skills in miniatures, animation, and visual effects in cinema. He has directed signature films for film festivals like IFFK and Vibgyor. The movie ‘Velutha Rathrikal’, directed by Razi and based on Dostoevsky’s novel, won the state award for the best adapted screenplay of that year.
The exhibition at the Berth Art Gallery, located in the Mattancherry Chamber of Commerce, Kochi, features around 45 paintings by Razi. Entry to the exhibition, which runs from 11 AM to 7 PM, is free and will conclude on the 29th.
