‘Money Matters…’

Economical Matters are something that can change the tracks of our lives and being a basic essential need to survive in this world it became more important issue for artists as well. So, how can it remain an untouched issue for artist's canvas, as artist Thirumala Madupu Thirupathi takes it as a central theme of his paintings..

Thirumala is a Hyderabad and Bangalore based artist who provides an inquiry centered upon a materialist interpretation of society and a dialectic view of social change through his works. Graduated in Painting from College of Fine Arts, J.N.T.U., Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh and a Postgraduate in Painting from Karnatka Chitrakala Parishad, Bangalore, Karnatka, Thirumala's works has included in many noticeable art exhibitions of both these places i.e. I.C.C.R. Art Gallery, Rabindra Bharti, Hyderabad Art Society, State Art Gallery, Shrishti Art Gallery, (Hyderabad) and at Institute of Engineers, Venkatappa Art Gallery, Kynkyny Art Gallery, (Bangalore) etc.

His works are translated silhouette of his own earned experiences and observations of the world around him, which travels right from his personal life to his contemporary consumerist culture. That is the point, where his works talks about the 'Money Matters' as a central theme.

Thirumala's association with 'Money' as a conceptual theme for his works started with the time of his father's death, because he was forced to think about money regarding issues. And these issues got transformed into the central theme of his paintings because there were multiple issues in periphery of this central theme what his mind was pre-occupied with.

As money became one of the major necessity in today's so called gentle/urban societies, apart from the food, cloth and shelter, which were once considered as necessary for human existence. Because the personality of a person is seen in terms of how much money s/he earns or poses. Exactly we are living in a consumerist world where money sets human relationships and only material for our daily transactions to buy products.

These all aspects of Thirumala's works could be traced over the theory of 'Marxism', which provides an economical sociopolitical worldview and a method of socioeconomic inquiry. As in the early mid 19th century, German Philosopher Friedrich Engels said, 'Everything is the product of our economical structure'. After Engels another pioneer of 'Marxism', Karl Marx added that this economical structure makes a base for superstructure on which culture stands. And this culture is later on recognized as 'Popular culture' which gives birth to commodities and fetishism. Theodor Adorno talks about it after Karl Marx. These kind of socio-economical inquires become more thought provoking and easily reachable to a common man as well, if rendered by an artist onto his canvas. Because image can be more direct to viewer having visual aesthetics in it and Thirumala's works has executed it well.

For instance in one of his work ‘For Sale’, where whole surface is divided into various boxes containing various daily life objects presented for advertisement. From all daily necessary things for common men and to an artist, an image of bridegroom is also seen, which tells the story of our ‘Dowry’ system where sons are sold by their parents for the sake of money only. Thus, marriages doesn’t happen in heaven but takes place in an greedy and varnished world where human beings are available like objects kept in showroom’s display. This work shows the current status of socio-economic situations and political fetishism as well.

Thirumala has used ‘a 500 note’ into various transformed characters, which shows the different aspects connected to money and how it affects to society and its belief system. His one painting of Rs. 500 note showing Mahatma Gandhi is keeping a cloth on his nose and mouth, makes a satire of nonsense usage of money, which has ashamed even a person like Gandhi, who is an inseparable part of that note. In another work he has given a spiral shape to ‘500 note’ which depicts its snaky character that can be harmful and poisonous like a snake if misused. Similarly some other works shows the 500 notes got transformed into shape of plants, which re-calls the image of popular household plant named as ‘Money-Plant’ which is surrounded by butterflies hovering around it, no doubt these butterflies are metaphor of human beings those are always greedy enough to grow an money-plant of false myths in ambition of making money. In one work ‘one rupee note’ has transformed into ‘paper boat’ which shows the role of money into artist’s own life where he is travelling with his wife in a boat made up of one rupee note but interestingly the river of life is without water and they both are trying to trail this.

Apart from the depiction of this powerful yet mythical money in form of ‘notes’ (silent yet powerful form of money), he has also used it in the form of coin (noisy and small unit of money). Like for showing the multiple usage of money in our life, he has made various gestures of hands playing with one rupee coin where artist is trying to articulate the power of money from which a man is sleeping unaffectedly. In another work coins are in cover of ‘banana’ as they are kept like ‘biscuits’ in packet shows that money is sweet and fruitful but could be destructive when invested in buying weapons, as in one work note is converted into form of weapon.

Thirumala’s works traces the different aspects of life and situations but they have enriched their iconographical account from ‘Popular’ and ‘Traditional’ images combined with mythical images as well which gives a pure Indian character to them. For instance a work, where daily market is made onto a page of daily calendar which almost every Indian house keeps and another work ‘Sanjeevani’  in which God ‘Hanuman’ is seen holding an ‘note mountain’ for the sake of saving the life of common people of the country. Clearly the iconography of story narrated in Hindu text ‘Ramayana’ has juxtaposed with contemporary situations which gives satirical stance to it. Another work with the dominant image of a hand onto whole surface says of false belief in ‘Palmistry’ where people believe in the money line called ‘Dhan-Rekha’ but artist don’t subsume to that belief, instead of believing in hard work, honesty and truth.

Artist's Works Courtesy: Studio Astrea