That Day in The Forest

In this painting, Dibin Thilakan is tapping into the realm between the conscious and subconscious. This painting has seven different figures, all in neatly sectioned parts of the artwork, engaging in completely different activities. This painting is almost like an aerial-view of the forest, offering a voyeuristic perspective on couples having sex, a Narcissus-like man exulting in his nudity and two couples taking aim with their bows at something outside the frame.  There is also a play on perspective with nature in this composition as the humans appear to be larger than a lot of the trees—this could be a subtle satirical nod at the human tendency to see nature as subservient to our desires and conveniences.

Dibin Thilakan was born in Thrissur, Kerala. After graduating from the town’s College of Fine Arts in 2010, he collaborated with a Latin American theatre group, experimenting with various aspects of the performing arts. He then went on to acquire his masters in painting from the SN School of Art and Communication, Hyderabad University, and returned to Thrissur to establish his studio. “Most of my batch-mates migrated to art hubs like Mumbai but I decided to come back and settle down in Kerala. It’s so beautiful here,” he said in an interview with Sarmaya—read and see other works by the artist in our collection here.