Art Scout: Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran Is Breaking The Traditions of Ceramics One Dick at a Time

Welcome to our new column Art Scout, where we profile Australia's creative up-and-comers.



Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran in his studio. All photography by Lance Laurence for The Creators Project

Isobel Beech — May 12 2016

Only three years out of his Fine Arts degree, Sydney-based artist Ramesh Mario Nithiyendran has held eight solo shows, received numerous accolades, and been part of countless group exhibitions. This isn’t surprising looking at his work, which these days tends to take the form of sculpture and installation. It’s bold and brightly coloured, and immediately arresting; evocative of something primal and thrilling. “I’ve always been physical and messy when it comes to art,” he tells The Creators Project. “I like big, bold gestures and a physical and embodied creative process. It’s opposite to that quiet, contemplative, meditative thing that works for some people.”

Nithiyendran’s work jumps out at you—warped and melty and often involving overt references to male anatomy. That is to say, covered in dicks. He finds phallus worship to be an engaging paradigm. “It’s interesting as representations of erect penises are perhaps the most highly legislated image in our cultural economies, yet it [phallus worship] is at the centre of so many things,” he explains, citing patriarchal Western societies and Christian ideologies as examples.

“I’m also interested in the ways in which imagery and understandings of the phallus are presented in non-misogynistic forms,” Nithiyendran says, telling us that this is where his research into Hindu constructions of phallocentrism comes into play. While he has Hindu heritage, Nithiyendran is a confident atheist. “I’ve noticed that it’s hard for some white people to understand that an Asian person can explore religion from a critical, secular position. It’s comfortable to be perceived as some exotic, non-threatening package with a clearly articulated ‘place’,” he says.

Likewise, born in Sri Lanka and raised in Australia, he says many white people assume Sri Lanka has more of an influence in his practice than it actually does.

http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/en_au/blog/art-scout-ramesh-mario-nithiyendran-is-breaking-the-traditions-of-ceramics-one-phallus-at-a-time

http://www.ramesh-nithiyendran.com/