Portraying Memories of Wiped-out Views: RB Shajith’s exhibition at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2025

Portraying Memories of Wiped-out Views is the title of artist RB Shajith’s exhibition at the Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2025, and it’s a deeply evocative body of work.

Artist:
RB Shajith, from Malappattam in Kannur, Kerala.

Venue:
Coir Godown, Aspinwall House, Fort Kochi.

Mediums Used:
Acrylic, oil, and watercolour.

Theme:
- Dense landscapes of Malabar that are disappearing due to development and ecological change.
- Works reflect personal memories, myths, rhythms, and stories tied to the land.
- The series is titled “Wiping Out”, begun after extensive research into the Malabar ecosystem.

Key Motifs
- Green Canopies & Roots: Symbolizing interconnectedness of life and nature.
- Areca Palm Trunks: Painted as barriers, representing landscapes lost forever.
- Peacock in a Cage: A haunting image of the national bird, displaced by climate change and urbanization.
- Streams Turned to Roads: A metaphor for development erasing natural spaces once central to daily life.

Artistic Journey
- Shajith trained in watercolour traditions in Thalassery, later exploring Japanese and Chinese wash techniques.
- Experimented with Mughal miniature and mural styles before moving into larger canvases.
- His earlier series Awaiting carried hope, but ecological loss led him to create Wiping Out.

Message
- The works are not just landscapes but reflections and reminders of ecological erasure.
- They carry a strong political and environmental consciousness, urging viewers to confront the cost of unchecked development.

👉 In short, Portraying Memories of Wiped-out Views is both a personal lament and a collective warning — art that transforms nostalgia into ecological activism.