Kochi  :

Praveesh Chandran’s work ‘Resurrection, a man with art’, which is being displayed at Durbar Hall Art Gallery, revolves around two themes, nature and a celebration of disability.

The thirty-year-old, who hails from Thrissur, has been battling against muscular dystrophy, a disorder that weakens a person’s muscles over time. But it has not stopped him from pursuing his passion.

“I was diagnosed with the condition when I was around 5 years. By the time I was in Class X, it became painful for me to walk around, and my parents decided not to send me to school any more,” said Praveesh. The genetic disorder has left Praveesh confined to a wheelchair.

“My hands areweak and hurt me when I try to do anything. But painting is one of the few things that gives me great joy, apart from my wife and daughter,” said Praveesh.

One of the paintings that has caught visitors’ attention is that of a bird’s eye view of earth with a wheelchair facing it in outer space. “People ask me how I paint bearing the pain. This is my way of telling them that disabled or not, if one puts his/her mind to it, then sky is the limit. Look at Stephen Hawking, even with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, he continues his work as a theoretical physicist,” says Praveesh, who says that he will paint until he is completely incapacitated.

His paintings will be on display till Friday from 11am to 7pm.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India /  News Home> Kochi / by Rochelle DSouza, TNN / July 26th,  2015