CHENNAI: Dr Jayakrishnan Unni’s connection with music and art began at the tender age of three. He started with the mridangam and later ventured into other aspects. “It was only when I came to Chennai in 1997 that I started pursuing music seriously. I was trained under Ajay Namboodri, and then Neyveli Santhana Gopalan became my next guru. Until 2021, I didn’t move out of the city, driven purely by my passion for music,” begins the musician, academician, and visual artist.
After music, he began focusing on his other passion, which is art. “I learnt the basics from Lakshmi Raghavan for a few years and then became a self-taught artist, drawing inspiration from Keshav Venkata Raghavan sir. Pencils are my core,” he says.
Rag Rekha is an intimate confluence of sound and sight, where music finds expression through line and shade. With refined line work and nuanced tonal depth, Jayakrishnan translates musical emotion into visual cadence, inviting viewers into a meditative artistic dialogue.
For his ongoing Rag Rekha exhibition, he features a compelling collection of pencil drawings portraying legendary musicians and dancers from the world of Indian classical arts. Executed in graphite on white paper and white pencil on black surfaces, the works capture not merely physical likeness but the inner bhava, rhythmic vitality, and meditative stillness of each subject. Around 100 works by Jayakrishnan are on display.
The inauguration was graced by mridangam maestro Padma Vibhushan Umayalpuram Sivaraman as the Chief Guest. The Guests of Honour included Y. G. Mahendra, Neyveli R. Santhanagopalan, P. Unnikrishnan, and Keshav Venkataraghavan.
Not just art, the event blends art with music. The musical celebrations include a concert by Dr Jayakrishnan Unni and conclude on December 28 with a performance by Sri Sriranjani Tapasya Santhanagopalan.
“I was always on a quest to merge these two artistic worlds. In 2009, when I was planning an exhibition, I wanted to connect my artistic skills with music. My first painting was of Carnatic vocalist M. D. Ramanathan. He is known for Navarasa Virutham, so I brought that feature into my work by drawing his portrait with the concept of navarasa,” he elucidates.
According to Jayakrishnan, the most challenging portrait was that of Madurai TN Seshagopalan. “I think my reverence towards him is the reason for that. I was hardly satisfied with the output and pushed myself to improve further,” he shares.
For the artist-musician, both music and art are his comfort spaces and inseparable from his life. The exhibition is taking place at CP Art Centre, Mylapore, until today.