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Feeling Latterite at your unfamiliar so(u)les

Shilpa Padhyam is Valsan Koorma Kolleri’s dream project. Designed and built in locally available latterite stones, this is a centre for all arts. Located in Patyam, Kannur District, North Kerala, Shilpa Padhyam will be fully functional in 2009. JohnyML visits the centre and features.

Soon this simple village, Patyam in North Kerala will find its own space in the art map of contemporary India. It is here the noted sculptor Valsan Koorma Kolleri builds his dream project, Shilpa Padhyam, a centre for contemporary art. Shilpa Padhyam could be translated as ‘School of Sculpture’. Though Valsan’s passion is sculpture, the centre that he develops here is for all kinds of arts, including the cutting edge new media art. Someone has recently said that Indian contemporary art has gone beyond the ‘cutting edge’ art and now it should be called ‘edgy’ art. Valsan has already noticed this transition. Hence, this centre would have all the facilities for creating even ‘edgy’ art.

Patyam has a special place in the socio-cultural and political history of Kerala. It has given birth to many stalwarts including the famous 19th century social reformist and linguist Swami Vagbhatananda and many 20th century political leaders. In a politically volatile Patyam one can always find an ongoing tussle between the left wing activists and the right wing extremists for ideological supremacy. However, the cultural fabric of this place is still intact as the people take a great pride in their local history, the richness of myths and the performative rituals like Theyyam. The latterite deposits abundantly found in Patyam are the main building materials for the local communities.

Designed by Rajasekharan and Biju Bhaskar, two architects who practice alternative architectural methods, under the supervision of Valsan himself, Shilpa Padhyam will be fully functional in a year’s time. “Shilpa Padhyam is not a conventional art centre,” says Valsan. “It is an idea and a vision. Artists can come, live and interact with the local surroundings. There will not be any institutional restrictions and it is a free space for creative articulation,” he explains.

Completely built by chiseled and shaped latterite blocks, Shilpa Padhyam has four major sections- a residential space, a new media lab, studios for painting, sculpture and printmaking, and dining cum conference facilities. Each block is connected through an elevated corridor (which is under construction). There is a huge water tank for rainwater harvesting and a deep well for regular water supply. Valsan believes in incorporating function and aesthetics in minimal spaces. “One can find small rooms and big studios. This is not a place for spending one’s vacation. It is a place to work, meditate and experience. The very design of the building would instill this vision amongst the artists working here,” Valsan says.  

Once completed, Valsan would like to open the doors of Shilpa Padhyam for the artists from all over the world. There will not be any kind of conventional residency programs here. Artists could come at their will, spend time, work and could contribute to the daily functioning of the centre in whichever way they find suitable. “Shilpa Padhyam is not about money, but about art and its value. When you are here, you experience the space and place. Your vision and art become clearer. It is a place to experience art. My intention is not to create a space for thinking. Thinking will stop your creative energies. Shilpapadhyam is a way of living and experiencing. Here you stop thinking and start being one with your creative energies. All the infrastructural facilities are there to assist you in giving shape to your awakened creative energies,” says the artist.

Around 150 kilometers further north from Calicut Airport (around 15 kilometers from Talasseri Railway station/bus stand), Shilpa Padhyam is now popular amongst the villagers. Ask anyone about Shilpa Padhyam, they would tell you the way to reach the centre. “Initially people were skeptical. Now people ask everyday when the centre will be completed,” says Shaji, the caretaker of Shilpa Padhyam. For the last three years Valsan has been working from the first block and all his huge works in latterite are constructed here. “People have seen the trucks taking latterite stones from the quarries. But they have not seen the latterite blocks shaped into different forms, loaded to trucks with utmost care. Now they are interested,” says Shaji recalling how people reacted to Valsan sculptures fabricated at Shilpa Padhyam and sent to Mumbai, Belgium and other places in trucksloads.

In 2007, Shilpa Padhyam announced its arrival with its first Biennale exhibition in New Delhi. “Shilpa Padhyam Biennale is an alternative concept. Its aim is to recognize the creative efforts of artists who are not recognized by the mainstream galleries,” explains Valsan. Shilpa Padhyam has also instituted awards for emerging sculptors. Valsan has always been a nomad. For him, Shilpa Padhyam is a place for all those artistic nomads to down their baggage and rest. “Shilpa Padhyam is a journey and the experience of it. It is not a solution or a destination. It is about walking on the latterite chips without shoes and feeling the touch of stone in your blood.” May be, Valsan sounds too romantic for our times. But then only the romantics with crazy visions have changed our lives.