Kappari Kishan

Kappari Kishan introduces a marked degree of novelty in the contemporary representation of images focusing on Telangana. The main protagonists however, remain the same- ‘women’ and/or ‘girls’. He also tries to transcend regional concerns in a way when he incorporates images of the Buddha in his works. The layout of the paintings often show large human forms in the foreground, while the background serves as a backdrop where the storyboard is elaborated to be read against and in relation to the images in the fore.

‘Batukamma’ is one of the works in which Kappari Kishan portrays a very important festive ritual of Telangana. Women make floral arrangements and place them in the centre on the ground in order to sing and dance by going around it. Usually the spectators face the back of the women engrossed in their activity facing the Batukamma. Interestingly, in most of K.Kishan’s works women are seen facing their back towards us. This makes them rather susceptible to the gaze of the artist/viewer. Lately, he has painted frontal view of women images as well. A case in point is the work titled ‘Snehitulu’ where in K.Kishan tries to depict a conversation between friends. Their attire and the pastoral lifestyle shown in the background provide the rural context to the work.