Dibin Thilakan is 21years old and has a long life ahead.
So I could write a generation ago.
At that time prevailed the concept of long life.
But today, in October 2010, the concept of time and the time of life
has changed profoundly.
This generation knows that will not get an easy life.
Religion, politics, social engagement are accomplice to defend the
material and conservative system that drive the human in the territory
of homophobia and loneliness, instead of developing the intangible
values that drive in the territory of transgender and community.
The economy, despite some momentary peaks, is falling into a ravine
that for the first time in human history will force future generations
to live worse than their parents.
These young people decide to live fast..
Do it now. Life is short.
Tomorrow may be too late.
In this time prevail the concept of short life.
Drug, alcool, virtual sex fill the life of short life generation.
It 's a global phenomenon due to cultural homogenization that has
destroyed the particular identities and secular traditions.
Not for me to judge whether this is good or bad.
I need to contextualize Dibin Thilakan artistic research and to
understand the reason of his provocation (he has sun of short life).
His search for self identity is the path of millions of teens on the
planet earth
Gender and pornography are the new territories where lives Dibin.
He thinks it is possible to replace those destructive values
(drug,alcool,virtual sex) with constructive values as no gender and
pornography
The idea that there are two radically different species, the male and
the female is served in the centuries to justify the separation and
create hierarchies of inequality,
Traditionally,people are divided into men and women on the basis of
their biological differences. In common feeling, in fact, sex and
gender as a set. The studies suggest instead a gender breakdown, the
theoretical-conceptual, between these two aspects of identity:
sex (sex) is a genetic, a set of biological characteristics, physical
and anatomical producing a binary male / female
gender (gender) is a cultural construction, representation,
development and promotion of behaviors that are of biological kit and
give life to the status of men and women.
Sex and gender are not two opposing but interdependent dimensions: the
biological characters triggers the production process of gender
identity. Translate the two dimensions of man and woman. Gender is a
product of human culture and the result of a persistent strengthening
social and cultural identity is created through a series of daily
interactions that tend to define the differences between men and
women.
At the social level it is necessary to constantly bear witness through
their membership of gender behavior, language, social role. We talk
about it in gender roles.
In essence, gender is a learned and innate character. Males and
females are born, men and women becomes
The work Arbitrary is the anthem of this cultural concept.
Dibin enter into a sphere of cultural provocation and criticism of the
dominant systems, using art as a weapon to revolutionize the Indian
culture but by providing the values of a new global culture.
His works are fruit of a cultural contamination.
Surrealism and Indian iconography chase with excellent results, such
as to report it as one of the emerging talent at international level.
Starting from the gender, learned and not innate, Debin enters the
sphere of male-female gender and indicates in the pornography the path
of a new social identity.
Dibin writes: “ I am interested in versions of the self and identity,
more so when it matters with darker and hushed up sides of human
sensuality. Image making, the spontaneous and instantaneous activity
of my mind is what I am enjoying at present. exploring the
viscosityand transparency of watercolour it seems that I am carrying
sensuality as such as a figure of speech. In that sense it looks
feminine. But when done with the work, I realise that the images look
as if they come from some kind of pornographic world. This generic
nature, I am conscious about. And that seems to vent a masculinised
typology of representation of sexuality. I am enjoying this toggling
process of feminizing the masculine and masculinising the feminine
that I occur at in the recent works.
Currently, I realise that I am in a transit from provocation to the
undercurrents of some more pertinant questions of self and it’s
numerous versions that I live out everyday.”
Pornography as dna (identity) of new generation, pillars to enjoy
the short life that he expects.
Niankhkhnum and Khnumhotep, Plotinus, the frescoes of Pompeii, the
Persian poets, Indian culture, the Venetian eighteenth-century, pop
art have given at sex and pornography absolute value.
All the arts of India speak about sexual life and pornography.. Sex
and beauty of the body are linked and associated with expressions of
ancient Indian civilization and many used to describe the gods or
men.
The sculpture of the temples of Khajuraho, Bhubaneshwar and in the
great chariot of the sun at Puri are the most obvious.
The Indian dances are full of provocations, no one can deny the great
sensuality of music and singing.
The Loves of Krishna and Radha have inspired many painters and poets.
The Hindus have until the fifteenth century, a life in which they were
to observe a strict sexual rules.
But there was no shame as they bear witness to the ways of life of
people in isolated villages or tribal. The idea of the sin of the
flesh did not exist, the temptations of infidelity were a solution in
polygamy.
The profession of courtesan was not considered shameful, and their
temples had prostitutes that were exchanged between gods and men.
Indian philosophy says that we must dominate the body if we do not
want that its dominate us.
Dibin tries a new way inside the tradition and overcome it.
“I am enjoying this toggling process of feminizing the masculine and
masculinising the feminine that I occur at in the recent works.”
Not satisfied with the sexual freedom, feminism, homosexuality.
Now these values are made, even if not the entire planet, but their
cultures, which also helped to rid the world of ancient and modern
stereotypes that captured the social and cultural evolution, remained
in a philosophy of gender.
Dibin goes further and proposes a cultural anthropological revolution.
This is the main point.
Overcome the Indian cultural tradition, resting, like all cultural
traditions, on the sexual division, taking the natural division
intended as pornography as modus vivendi of a new social system based
not on gender, learned and not innate.
No gender as a universal doctrine of tolerance of all Eastern and
Western traditions that focus on genres such as natural value.
Dibin Thilakan is contemporary, he lives in a short life concept.
He knows Indian culture and Raffaello, Caracci, Courbert, Klimt,
Balthus, Kippenberger, Basqiuat, Marina Abramovic.
Try to indicate a universal way ( weast & east ) on the concept of
life in the most intriguing philosophical and artistic form : overcome
the gender living pornography as religious and social value.
This is his goal.
I am sure he will find a solution, because he has not human talent.
Pietro Franesi
Director
NY BIENNALE ART
