Tug of War

Tug of War, the latest in it displayed at the main venue of India’s first biennale, features a horizontal string of 50 adult humans from a range of races across the globe. Their chaotic existence is shown punctuated by a dozen serene baby faces highlighted against a busy backdrop of 220 small circles that bear images of national flags.The brinkmanship of world leaders finds tacit depiction in the 30 X 4 feet painting. “I am puzzled by the warmongering of even the underdeveloped countries of the world. Children and women are still the victims of all these”, says the artist, a native of semi-hilly Keezhillam village and an alumna of RLV College of Fine Arts in coastal Tripunithura — both in Ernakulam district of central Kerala.The disturbing theme apart, Tug of War has an air of festivity overall. The “golden sparkles”, as Jalaja calls the streaks of glitter jostling above the below the people in the work, are for the viewer to define, she shrugs.