Country:
Venue:
Categories:
Exhibition Type:
How many exhibition works:
- 0 - 9
Press Release
In the words of the artist...
"My aim is to use art as a medium to build cross-cultural interactions, creating a single homogenous world. Human behavior and its transmission is shaped and influenced by socio-cultural forces. Preconceived notions determine what is age or gender appropriate. Cultural, regional and race biases created by the influence of our surroundings define our reactions to sexism, homophobia and sexual variance. Reactions to a particular colour changes differ continually with changing times, attitudes and new dictates.
Colours worn for various occasions may be diametrically opposite from one group of people to another. group of people. Black is the colour of mourning for some, groups of people and white for others. White may symbolize purity and is worn by brides in some cultures and yet is viewed as an absence of colour and therefore worn by widows in other cultures which may favour fire colours such as red and yellow. Blue is the colour for baby boys and pink for baby girls in western cultures but has no such significance in other cultures.
Human behaviour and mental processes, its variability and invariance, under diverse cultural conditions are what we see in the connected world of today. Conceptions of the self, anxiety and depression, may lack external validity when exported to other cultural contexts. Skin colour for oppressors was the basis of discrimination against the oppressed leading to wars, slavery and racism. Some of those stigmas continue into the present day yet are being challenged and redefined.
In my series of portraits there is an emphasis on the individualistic. Age or race do not define the Ccolour of skin or hair. Men and women have metallic lips, colourful skin and glasses. The glasses help depict the view of the external world, its reflection and influences on the mind.
The paintings have an acrylic frame that gives the illusion of light filtering through it and the glasses to reflect on the face and the background.
Curator :
Artist:
Having grown up in Afghanistan, and seeing all the destruction and chaos around her, Lakshmi cultivated a keen desire to create rather than destroy, thus began her sojourn of design.
Lakshmi studied architecture at the Manipal Institute of Technology in India. On completion, she joined prominent architecture firm Benjamin and Benjamin. Working on creating structures, Lakshmi soon began to feel constrained by the realms of society, which was not ready to shed its traditional moulds of a conservative lifestyle.
Travelling throughout Europe and Asia, Lakshmi studied art and fashion and jewellery. Her experience enabled her to incorporate these cross-cultural elements in her designs.
Following her travels, Lakshmi began teaching fashion design at NIFT in New Delhi. She soon relocated to Singapore, where she continued teaching at Lasalle School of the Arts. She has not only seen her students win International Awards, she herself has won awards and recognition.
Over the years, Lakshmi has also used her talent as a skilled artist to spread messages for the betterment of society. She has tried to convey the messages on various social aspects through illustration by working with the World Health Organization, Voluntary Health Association of India, World Wildlife Fund, and the National AIDS Control Organization to name a few. Her illustrations are very explicit and easy to understand.
Now a master of art, architecture, furniture, fashion and jewellery design, Lakshmi has a plethora of work in many mediums including pen and ink, pencil, charcoal, acrylic and watercolours.
Lakshmi has design studios in both Singapore and India.
Online Exhibition
