Subodh Kerkar’s canvas of Goa combines the state’s people, its waters, and their intertwined history in a visual tour de force. From resplendent paintings of Goan houses to larger-than-life beach installations, Subodh’s artwork exists at the confluence of aesthetics and social consciousness. It engages intimately with both the historical events and the daily nitty gritty of the collective life of Goa. Much of the art records grim events such as the brutality of the Inquisition and the slave trade introduced by the Portuguese; yet, it is not without lightness of touch, as exemplified in works such as a marigold beach installation, or ‘Vascofruit’, where several food items are shown growing on Vasco da Gama’s head.

The artist’s roving eye misses nothing—the ocean’s imprint on boats, sea shells, the lives of fisherfolk, Goan cuisine. Subodh’s daring and experimental works include 500 terracotta heads planted on the beach, expansive sand-and-light installations, oysters growing on plates immersed in the ocean, fisherfolk depicted in ink, crochet, laterite sculptures, and much more. Goa: Subodh Kerkar’s Canvas integrates art and environment in a work of enduring beauty and resistance.