Pune: Bengaluru-based Indo-French artist Olympe Ramakrishna sees India’s changing social landscape through the lives of its women. It is this generational shift, and the many ways in which women’s identities and aspirations evolve, that forms the foundation of her art installation in the city this week, titled ‘Women of Urban India’.Organised in association with Alliance Française de Pune, the installation will be displayed at Pune Handmade Papers in Shivajinagar from Nov 14 to 19. The portraits showcased therein have been made by the 40-year-old creator on canvas and then transferred onto silk sarees, adding unique texture, depth and perspective.“What struck me most about urban India is how dynamically society changes from one generation to the next, particularly when it comes to women. There is so much transformation between generations, and yet the distance between them never seems insurmountable,” Ramakrishna told TOI.Ramakrishna was born to Tamilian parents in France, but moved to India a few years ago. Even today, she shuttles between Normandy in France and Bengaluru here.Her work mainly features portraits of 12 contemporary Indian women, all from Bengaluru and hailing from different avenues of life. Their rendition on silk sarees seamlessly stitches together art, textile and the lived experiences of the subjects.“Before I asked them to pose for me, I spent time getting to know them and the way they lead their lives. This helped me get an idea as to what interested me and where I would start. Although the way I begin something doesn’t necessarily end predictably. I might find or perceive something else while painting, and that changes the way I finish,” Ramakrishna said.Ramakrishna has spent over 100 hours on each portrait, and travelled with them to various Indian cities and parts of Europe. She believes all the effort comes to fruition when the art she has created is shared with the public. “Art is meant to be shared. What I try to present in my work is incomplete without the beholder. I have had people get emotional seeing the portraits and tell me something that the work elicited in them, which I couldn’t even have conceived otherwise.”On the inaugural day of the exhibition on Saturday, Ramakrishna will hold an interactive workshop open to the public for free, where she’ll guide people through making self-portraits. “I don’t aim to do repetitive things, but I do wish to encourage people to wield the brush. The way I learnt was to not let one’s mind wander or give it time to overthink. Just keep at it until you get the thing done, and then start again,” she said.
