A young artist from Subiaco used his creative gifts to make a poignant political statement that is now hanging on the walls of The Art Gallery of Western Australia.
Bob Hawke College graduate Yuvan Muthusami may view art as more of a hobby, but inspiration from a struggle close to home sparked an emotional piece that now forms part of The West Australian Pulse 2026 exhibit.
His ink lino print artwork on Japanese vinyl, titled The Last Embrace, is one of just 63 works handpicked from more than 300 student entries across the State.
It depicts an old Indian farmer holding his bull, described as his “partner in labour”, waiting for authorities to seize his land.
“It’s a really common thing. These bank officers will actively seek out vulnerable and illiterate farmers in India, especially rural India, and they’ll try to get them to get loans from the bank without giving them any insight into how they actually work,” the 18-year-old artist said.
“These farmers are usually not educated about how loans and debt works. So when they are approached by bank officers, who look educated and very neat, the farmers place trust in them that they will only do good for them. But when they get tricked, it’s like they can’t go to anyone because they willingly got the loan.”
Since 1995, more than 400,000 Indian farmers have died by suicide due to debt, corruption and systemic violence.
The crisis is also personal for Muthusami, who has had a family member directly impacted by similar pressures.
“My grandfather’s brother went through such an experience, and ended up losing all of his property. It’s a personal thing and it’s also a very prevalent issue, even today,” he said.
“They weren’t informed when making those choices, but people usually just blame the farmers.”
Muthusami created the piece as part of a Year 12 Visual Arts project last year, taking about three months to complete it.
During this time, he also studied the illusive street artist and political activist known as Banksy.
“He doesn’t really reveal that much about himself, but he talks about these issues, even though he might not have a direct connection to them,” Muthusami said.
“I felt like what I was doing had an actual purpose rather than expressing myself. I thought it was advocating for change, and allowing us to address these challenges.
“There’s this famous Banksy quote that says, ‘art is meant to disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturbed’. I really resonate with that statement.”
Muthusami is now a finalist in the 2026 Pulse exhibit, but he didn’t create his artwork with any such intentions.
“I didn’t expect it to be chosen at all, but I’m quite happy that it did get chosen,” he said.
“I just want people to know not to blame these farmers, because they’re the ones who’ve been taken advantage of. And to be grateful of how the circumstances are in Australia, where we don’t get taken advantage of like that.”
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The West Australian Pulse 2026 is at The Art Gallery of WA until September 13, with visitors encouraged to vote for their favourite work in The West Australian Pulse 2026 People’s Choice Award.
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