Anurendra Jegadeva, or popularly known as J. Anu, has upped the ante since his first solo at the Civic Centre, Petaling Jaya in 1992. What followed was a series of provocative narratives of ‘painted stories’ in his solo exhibitions about the Indian condition and culture, liberation theology in Sri Lanka, women and migrant issues. His recent exhibition, Finding Graceland, New Landscapes from the Great State of Perak (2011) saw him tackling huge canvases with the play of history and memory. This early 1996 work captures a Menora dancer from Kelantan bedecked in full traditional costumes complete with long sharp fingernail stubs. The dance is a male preserve with even the female roles played by males. A basic feature of Menora dancing involves an enactment of slow rhythmic movements of legs, arms and fingers. In this oil painting, a dancer is reproduced in the midst of executing a motion. With loose expressive strokes of the brush, J. Anu manages to convey a sense of steady movement, while his use of bold and striking colour makes the figure come alive. Painted for the exhibition Dance, Rhythm & Motion, Anu visited Kelantan to experience this particular style of dance. The artwork demonstrates Anu’s interest in illustrating his observations on tradition and culture through his own unique perspective. J. Anu is a multi-talented artist with 20 years experience as an art journalist who also holds law degree. He is also known as an art-critic and curator, with a stint at Galeri Petronas. Starting with a Foundation in Art and Design at the Oxford Polytechnic (1986), he followed up his Doctoral studies in Art Theory and Practice in London, and a Masters of Fine Art at Monash University in Melbourne, where he spent seven years. Anu has participated in art exhibitions since 1996, his paintings having graced the walls of the National Art Gallery, Galeri Petronas, Rimbun Dahan, Valentine Willie Fine Art and Wei-Ling Gallery. He has taken part in group shows abroad such as Experiences at Hill-Smith Fine Art in Adelaide, Australia (1999), 18@8: Contemporary Artists from Malaysia & Beyond, a collaborative exhibition between Wei-Ling Gallery and Amin Gulgee Gallery in Karachi, Pakistan (2006), as well as participating in China International Gallery Exposition at the China World Trade Centre in 2008. He is a sought after and prolific artist. His solo exhibitions include Strange Paradise - Meditations on Empire, the Gods and Mulligatawny Soup (2011), Finding Graceland (2011) and My God is My Truck (2010). In 2014, his works were presented in the form of a solo show titled MA-NA-VA-REH – Love and Loss in the Time of the Great Debate at Art Stage Singapore.