Artist Koilpitchai Prabakar went up to the terrace of his rented house in Perambur one morning and looked around. It was a typical Chennai motta maadi, with a view of similar terraces with peeling walls, clothes lines and potted plants as far as the eye could see. He then had an idea: why not turn this warm, comforting space into an art gallery? He did just that for his latest show titled Mottamaadi.
Koilpitchai studied at the Government College of Fine Arts, Egmore and has been showing his work from 2009 at various galleries in the city apart from places such as Delhi, Nagpur, and Coimbatore. “But the gallery remains a space that excludes everyday people,” feels the 39-year-old, speaking over phone from Chennai. “When I was a student and entered an art gallery for the first time, I remember being intimidated by it,” he says.
