The Art of a Cup of Tea
Arulraj Ulaganathan unveiled his first solo exhibition A Life in Tea, presenting his journey as a member of the Malaiyaga Tamil tea plantation worker community. Through his art, Arulraj captures the past, present and future of this community, illuminating the profound struggles that have shaped his personal and collective experience.
Arulraj hails from the mist-filled tea trails of Haputale where he lived in the line rooms of the plantation workers and attended the Haputale Tamil Central College. He pursued his education, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Pondicherry University in India, followed by an Masters in Fine Arts from the Government College of Fine Arts in Chennai in India. He specialises in printmaking, drawing and painting. A Life in Tea is dedicated to what he describes as the “haunting echoes of colonial tea plantations”.
The exhibition delves into the physical and mental hazards faced by the plantation workers. Arulraj captures the daily challenges of the estate workers who navigate their surroundings amid encounters with venomous snakes, leopards, porcupines and elephants. One striking painting in the series Into the Forest depicts a toilet nestled amidst dense foliage, serving as a stark reminder of the inadequate and unhygienic sanitation conditions endured by women on the estates.
The other striking set of elements is the series that features teacups. A single teacup, adorned with a delicate pattern of yellow and red, symbolises the refined ritual of a cup of tea cherished by high society. His work also depicts the insides of a teacup – leeches, a foetus and a leaking sanitary pad – showing that the cycle of life continues despite the adversity that is faced in the hills. He incorporates the traditional folk songs his ancestors would sing while working on the tea plantations into the background of his portraits.
Arulraj combines elements from the tea estates into his art featuring name cards and tea pruning knives and uses tea stain and pen to symbolise the challenges faced by the estate women. Sketches of bruised bare feet are a common feature in his work. His intricate portrayal captures the dual role carried by female tea estate workers who shoulder the responsibilities of both homemaking and breadwinning. Arulraj’s mother, a tea estate worker from Haputale, plays a central role in this exhibition; his depiction of her brave, expressive face alongside her estate card is a significant portrait.
Arulraj’s exhibition stands as a tribute to his unwavering perseverance, resilience and talent in the face of adversity and hardship.
His work has previously been exhibited at the JDA Perera gallery, the Kochi Muziris Student Biennale and Colomboscope.
In an interview with Groundviews, Arulraj spoke about the inspiration for his exhibition and what he hopes his art will achieve.
What inspired you to create this exhibition?
What inspired me to create this exhibition was to show what the mainstream media fails to portray about the reality of working in these tea plantations. There are many physical dangers such as the venomous snakes, elephants, porcupines and leopards that tea estate women encounter while they work on the plantations. My mother is a large part of my inspiration. I felt a responsibility to bring to light the conditions that she worked in most of her life as well as the hardships that our community faced. It’s my story, and I felt a responsibility to tell it.
What do you hope these paintings will inspire?
I wanted people to understand what it takes to make the cup of tea that is enjoyed by so many. I hope it will open people’s eyes to my community, our history and our survival. What I wish for most is for the children in these tea estates to receive a fulfilling education and be successful. For the women, like my mother, I hope they are able to afford better nutrition, living and housing conditions for their families and improved working conditions.
What techniques have you used in your work?
The colour brown is very prominent. I used the stain from plain tea, acrylic pen and pencil on brown board, to portray my landscape. I felt it was important to incorporate physical tea leaves to add to the brown colours. I chose the brown tone to contrast the vibrant green and blue tones that are often used to portray lush tea plantations.
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