Kolam gets a French connection

She is a regular visitor to Chennai during the Margazhi season. Apart from her love for music, dance and culture, Chantal Jumel has another fascination — kolams. 

Inspired by this humble drawing, the French expat has decided to hold an exhibition in the city. Titled ‘Inner Landscapes’, the calligraphy drawings have depictions from Sangam poetry. Ahead of her exhibition, Chantal talks about her love for kolam drawings and why the traditional floor paintings need to be taught in art schools. “This is my second painting exhibition in the city. 

Unlike the previous one, this exhibition is a representation of myself — the events that happened in my life. And I tried to draw them in a particular pattern for viewers to understand,” she begins. Elaborating on the significance of kolam drawings in her paintings, the avid student of kolam says, “Kolam is a very significant part of Tamil’s culture. The drawings are very elaborate and intricate. It’s been a form of expression of love and it combines aesthetics with philosophy. I believe that a home without a kolam does not shine and I had been fascinated by the calligraphic beauty of kolams. The minute details including the pullis and the cikkis — the lines which go around the dots — are significant. So, when I decided to hold a painting exhibition, I thought of incorporating the intricate details in chikku kolams and neli kolams.” 

 If you closely observe her work, you will understand that more than a drawing, the art is depicted in the form of a writing. “I’ve tried an unusual calligraphy drawing for this series and I am sure people will be astonished to see this kind of visual art. The series is drawn in rice paper using sanguine (reddish brown) colour ink. I have used Devanagari script for the drawings and I drew the images with just one letter — Ohm. I’ve written Ohm in such a way that, at the end, it will look like a drawing and not a combination of words,” Chantal explains, adding, “The letter Ohm is evident in some pictures and merges with the design in some other.”  

An avid traveller, Chantal has been taking part in creative art festivals across the country. “I have a great liking to Tamil literature. So, when I decided to start the series, I wanted to incorporate the ancient Tamil literature, the Sangam literature in my drawings. With the help of my translator, I chose five poems (that depicts human feelings) from Sangam poetry and blended them in my drawings. The landscapes in the drawings are inspired by Sangam poems,” says the researcher in Indian visual and performing arts. 

Chantal Jumel has authored two books in French — A journey through graphical India, Kolam, ephemeral drawings by Tamil women and Kolam and kalam, South Indian ephemeral and ritual paintings.