Kerala artist codes space on global canvas

UMDs-Portrait-Series

# Ajayan | Unnikrishna M Damodaran - UMD, or simply DU to friends - has marked a quiet milestone, representing India at the Art Blocks Marfa Weekend in Texas. The invitation, extended by one of the world’s foremost platforms for digital and generative art, is an honour that resonates with pride for India and Kerala alike.

Artists, collectors, and cultural voices from across the world gathered there, UMD told Metro Vaartha. As for Indians, he noted, there were just four or five, mostly collectors living in the US, with just one other artist among them.

A graduate in Applied Arts from the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram, he stepped into the advertising world of 1980s Bombay, unbothered by being called a “commercial artist” by his close friends. That world of advertising sharpened his sense of clarity, precision and visual communication. The journey then moved overseas, where years in crafted messaging deepened his artistic discipline. Though he continued to paint and draw, typography was a fascination which has reflected through his works.

The arrival of the first iPad opened yet another door, one into a new digital realm. Perhaps this eventually shaped him into the generative artist now recognized on a global stage.

He first drew notice through his 100-Day Portrait Series, responding to a challenge from the New York School of Arts to create something each day for a hundred days. UMD chose to sketch his friends, working at night after his day’s job, sharing each portrait online. The warm response encouraged him to continue, leading to the Number Portraits in Malayalam and the Malayalam Writers Series, which began with the all-time great OV Vijayan. When showcased at Lokame Tharavad, his portrait work received wide and appreciative acclaim. The whole show was curated by Bose Krishnamachari, the brain behind Kochi Biennale. UMD acknowledges that  Kochi Biennale, the first launched on 12/12/12,  has helped open a new dimension of art appreciation in Kerala - a shift he sees as deeply positive.

UMDs-Portrait Kerala artist codes space on global canvas

To keep pace with changing times is to remain young, and UMD’s youthfulness reveals itself through generative art. Entirely digital, rooted in algorithms and mathematics, it may prompt the question - where is the art? Here, creativity lies in the code: the artist designs the rules, sets the process in motion and allows form to unfold. From this generative flow can arise images, sculpture, animation - even music. It is part of the new world shaped by AI, yet it opens fresh pathways for composition, pattern and imagination.

About his Marfa experience, UMD describes it as a rare opportunity for his artistic vision to be seen and acknowledged globally. Coming from a land of profound cultural heritage, he felt a quiet pride in placing Kerala’s imprint within the emerging world map of digital art.

He presented Consumer Struggles, a site-specific installation that paired everyday consumer objects with generative works displayed on LCD screens. The piece reflects on how capitalist systems and digital consumption shape our aesthetics, language, and pace of life. By introducing slowness, ambiguity and hesitation, his work resists the speed and surface clarity demanded by consumer culture - inviting viewers instead toward deeper reflection and quieter seeing.

He had the chance to engage with some of the most influential figures in contemporary art and design - Beeple, Jack Butcher and Erick Calderon of Art Blocks among the many. “Being part of the Art Blocks Marfa Weekend affirms that digital art is not a passing trend,” UMD reflects, “but a vital artistic language of our time.”

For Kerala, his participation shows how local practice can flow into global currents - offering both inspiration and visibility to the State’s emerging digital art community.