Connections 2 (2005)

About the Artist:
Shijo Jacob lives and works in Kerala, India. Hailing from a small village named Mammood he studied BFA painting (1992-1996) at the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.

After that he went to the illustrious Kanoria Centre for Arts in Ahmedabad under an Artist in Residence Scholarship. In 1999 he got an MFA in Painting from Jamia Millia Central University, New Delhi.

In 1993, Judi was involved in a minor vehicle accident, suffering a C-3 spinal cord injury (incomplete Quadriplegia). She was in the hospital from January 30 until Christmas of 1993. Though she regained some strength and sensation, Judi was unable to return to teaching. Nonetheless, she has continued her art, travel and equine sports.

Shijo Jacob has participated in several important shows in India and abroad. Presently he is working as a faculty member in the Dept. of Painting, Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts (University of Kerala), Mavelikara, Kerala, India.

Artist's Statement:
These works are from the series named File Photos. File Photos are the important documents, which is the part of history. If the event is public event, it is social history. If it is personal, it is personal history. In these works, one is taken through a journey that unravels a social history.

It is a journey; a journey into a common man's history. This pictorial journey helps us understand the life and reality of marginalised people. In this journey I find some photographs of unknown people. This helps me to recollect memories, pains, anxieties and dreams. Archives of a person.

These works probe people who are socially, culturally and politically marginalised. Although the content of such images could tilt the scales of tranquility, they are too real to be misplaced into the zone of aesthetic pleasure. These images portray the role of a mutilated body in biographical, political, sexual and the materialistic in the present.

Exhibitions (Solo):