The Open Studio / Kotha Revanth
Kotha Revanth
Pothuraju
A childhood festival mask, painted to stare straight back at you
A red face fills the square like a held breath.
The eyes are two white moons with black wells at their centre.
A moustache curls up at both ends, a smile saved for the crowd.
Small grey leaves climb the cap in rows.
At the throat a yellow band, beaded white, holds the head still.
Around it the cream ground waits for the festival to begin.
The work
Kotha Revanth paints Pothuraju as one large mask on a pale square ground. Kotha comes from the Naikpod community in Mulugu district. The artist remembers making masks as a child for festivals such as Laxmi Devara and Pothuraju. Here the face is a deep red. Thick black brows and a curled moustache frame wide white eyes. Fine lines mark the lashes and the leaf pattern on the cap. Kotha builds acrylic in layers. The aim is to reinterpret the old form, not copy it.
In the artist’s words
“My work is inspired by traditional festivals and community practices such as Laxmi Devara and Pothuraju. As children we made masks and took part in cultural activities. I use mask making to explore identity, tradition, ritual and memory. I am not trying to simply copy traditional forms. I want to reinterpret them through my own contemporary visual language.”
- Theme
- Naikpod memory and ritual
- Material
- Acrylic
- Size
- 46 × 46 cm
- Year
- 2026
- Edition
- 1
- Framed
- No
- About the artist
- Suravaram Pratapa Reddy Telugu University
- From
- Mulugu district
- Code
- RC-519
