‘Ponniyin Selvan’- The phenomenal series of artwork by revered illustrator of Tamil publishing is on display in Chennai
Legendary Tamil illustrator Maniam Selvan’s avant-garde artwork reached new heights when it adorned the pages of Kalki Krishnamurthy’ celebrated book ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ in 1950. His legacy has graced the walls of Chennai’s Lalit Kala Akademi yet again.
The collaboration between Maniam and Kalki broke new grounds in 1950 when the serialised ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ was featured in Kalki’s weekly Tamil magazine which expanded his reach as an artist.
He was a student of the College of Arts, Egmore when he was asked by Kalki if he would be interested in working with him as a full-time artist for his new magazine.
Throughout the display, one can trace aspects of Maniam — his development as an artist, his varying levels of expertise, and observations from his travels.
The exhibition offers a dedicated space to Ponniyin Selvan illustrations depicting his original character sketches and digital prints of panels from the series.
Apart from this there are illustrations of Hampi, Ajanta, Ellora, and Badami caves that prevailed in his fine line depictions of sculptures, and mythological scenes.
Later Maniam also experimented with different mediums and subjects, such as portrayals of Alexander the Great, Mother Teresa and others.
It is surprising though to imagine how illustrative art has evolved with the advent of digital tools which are used in superimposition, photographic collages, and computerised illustrations.
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