Edam Artist Keerthy Explores Spaces Between Women’s Elevation and Restrictions

KOCHI:
Two headless ceramic sculptures—one of a girl in school uniform and another of an adult in a gown—placed on high cone-shaped pedestals offer food for thought. Viewers crane their neck to see the detailing layered with meaning.

Three more large pedestals in the row showcase sculptures—a woman sitting cross-legged with a book in her left hand and chin on her right palm lost in the world of words in fibre; a slightly modified terracotta version; and a girl in short hair seems to ponder over life near a woman with long plaited hair tossed across her chest, face bare, and her miniature version on the rough textured pedestals. These sculptures spur dialogue on the limitations and hassles binding and burdening women at every turn.

The installation titled, The Chased, by Keerthy R, featured at Edam (works by Kerala artists) in Garden Convention Centre, Mattancherry, running parallel to Kochi-Muziris Biennale (KMB), reflects her personal journey, the pain, that women can relate to.

Nearby, a refurbished cupboard holds smaller ceramic sculptures—a plate of dosa and chutney, tea cup, both left untouched; a book and strips of medicines. The girl sitting atop at the edge and the woman standing a little away, fragile and brittle yet strong and resilient, question existence in an unfair world.

The figurines on the pedestals are miniscule compared to the huge paper pulp pedestals, the paradox of placing women on pedestals yet denied of their rights.

“The Chased is about the struggles women face in their environs— home, educational institutes, or work place. Women are elevated in our culture yet chased by societal expectations, beauty standards, subjugation, judgement and more. Just as Mother Earth is worshipped yet exploited to the hilt, the huge pedestals are exposures than freedom,” said Keerthy who is doing a diploma course after completing BFA from Government College of Fine Arts, Thrissur.

Art is a panacea and catharsis for Keerthy. “It’s a relief experimenting with material and colours and shaping my thoughts. It has sort of helped overcome my trauma from childhood—harassment, discrimination, and other injustices. Realising my passion for ceramic figures, I am exploring the medium along with paper pulp and wood,” she said.

Minimalist, the paper pulp pedestals of rough fibrous texture and the path-like lines, delicate ceramic and terracotta forms, the colours, the expressions and the materials speak a lot about her personal journey.

“Ceramic is fragile and brittle and easily breakable like terracotta. Even paper pulp is fragile yet strong. I am an avid newspaper reader and could connect with headlines on injustices and evil in society. My sculptures are made from newspaper pulp made from those collected from trash,” she said.

According to Edam curator Aishwarya Suresh, “Keerthy approaches her practice with sensitivity to the layered realities women navigate today. Her artistic voice is both intuitive and incisive, shaped by lived experience and a critical awareness of visibility, pressure, and endurance.

Through her work material and form, she creates spaces that are reflective, questioning, and deeply attuned to contemporary feminist concerns.”

Keerthy has translated her bitter experiences into her art. The struggles faced by her mother and her own are reflected in the works.

“The sculptures in the cupboard mirror a turbulent phase where I was mentally and emotionally drained. I could not eat or drink and had lots of medicines to take. Family support and art pulled me through,” said Keerthy.