Kerala painter’s work to be exhibited in Victoria Parliament

Thiruvananthapuram, May 10 (IANS) A painter from Kerala, Sedunath Prabhakar, settled in Melbourne, has become the first Indian painter to get an invitation from the Parliament of Victoria in Melbourne to exhibit his painting at the Queen's Hall of the complex.

The "Pride of Australia" exhibition will showcase portraits of 50 prominent Australians drawn from a wide and varying cultural, social and political spectrum on a 50-metre single long canvas. It would be displayed on May 24 and 25.

Speaking to IANS over telephone from Melbourne, 43-year-old Prabhakar said: "Apart from the members of Victorian Parliament, guests from various ethnic communities and political parties in Victoria will also come to have a look at my work."

"It was in 2015 that this work of mine depicting the historical journey of Australia was finished and by now, lots of Australian people have seen it," said Prabhakar.

The 50 Australian greats, whose portraits would be on display, include Donald Bradman, first lady Prime Minister of Australia Julia Gillard, Captain James Cook (explorer), John Monash (Army Commander who took part in the First World War), Patrick White (Nobel Prize winner in literature), Emily Kame Kngwarreye (aboriginal artist), swimmer Ian Thorpe and footballer Tim Cahill, among others, he said.

Prabahakar's achievement has been highly appreciated by the Kerala community in Melbourne as well.

Speaking to IANS, Thiruvallam Bhasi, Editor of a Malayalam magazine published from Melbourne, said: "This is a great honour for we Keralites too, as he is the first Indian to get an invite."

"I have known him ever since he came here in 2008...is a committed professional and I have been fortunate to see his master pieces from the start. Now, with this honour, we are all happy that his hard work has paid off," said Bhasi, who was with Prabhakar to meet the Speaker of the Victorian Parliament.

Hailing from Kidangoor in Kottayam district, Prabhakar did his graduation in Fine Arts from the prestigious Baroda School of Arts in 1998 and arrived in Melbourne in 2008, along with his wife.

He has also got an invitation from Indian Ambassador to Oman Indra Mani Pandey's office to conduct a painting exhibition in Fine Arts Society of Oman.

"The proposed exhibition will have 60 paintings which tell the tradition of Oman and the cultural developments of people and the nation under the rule of Sultan Qaboos. The exhibition will be held in November," said Prabhakar.

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