MEENA LAISHRAM

My works open us to a personal world of nostalgic charm and tender beauty . My delicate, etherealand fragile aesthetics, sensuousness of colour and sinuous line-drawing, communicates directly to the viewer . “Playful” yet “morose” ; “Simplified” yet “impenetrable” ; “Docile” yet “challenging” – it is this quality of “in-betweenness” , refusing to settle meekly in to a labelled category that makes my work really engaging.

I have been passionate about portraits as a subject to communicate a nostalgic relationship with my livid environment. Vibrancy of colour and the use of design to enliven a surface has been my interest area. My oeuvre of feminine portraits reflects an insider view of a world un-spoilt by consumerism. The attributes of the female/feminine emerges subtly in my compositions, comprising figures that are located between the territories of observation and imagination. My penchant for decorativeness and embellishment vis-à-vis, the mundane and simple, exudes a womanly pleasure. The Idyllic, village-life subjects get transporated to a landscape of memory as if floating in time.

My painted surfaces, replete with motifs and designs, characteristically influenced by the textile patterns from the North-East, reflect my urge to trace back my lived experience through memories. My love for the textile motifs of the North East is evident from the manner in which it has constantly been a part of my work. I enjoyed the playfulness and the ability of activating the space that the tribal motifs involve. It is this combination of simplicity of form, draftsmanship, playfulness and attention to details, that offer sasense of visual pleasure, even for the most untrained eye.

Yet one cannot escape the impending sense of inexplicable melancholy. Tender, innocent yet melancholic, especially if one were to look at the lucid eyes , as if these figures are lost in a word of their own, ignorant and oblivious of the onlooker’s gaze. The look is more inwards as if the characters are set on a stage in a tete-a-tete. One does trace the inspiration of female artists like Armita Shergil on her visual vocabulary.

My figurative vocabulary and preference of bright colours and design patterns echo an understanding and appreciation of Indiana esthetics in terms of “Shringararasa” exuding a medley of “bhavas” or emotions. Akin to a continuous narrative, each of my works leads from one to the other, unfolding a personal biography of a particular i me and space. So while there are descriptive, biological and experienced references, there are also those from the point of aesthetic sand art history. Undoubtedly, My works radiate a feeling of her conscious acknowledgement of subjectivity and identity as a North-Eastern women artist.

My paintings take you back in time, evoking the simple life and innocence of childhood. I creates images of a happy place one can remember fondly and indulge in, leaving the viewer with a warm, fuzzy feeling of emotional comfort and nostalgia. Soulful and sensitive, memory revolves around figures of children and women, depicting the rich culture and traditions of Manipur. My paintings represent the innocence of childhood, comfort, togetherness, mother - daughter relation and friendship. Though in my canvas i attempt to capture the purity of a lost time that will never return but we all wish to go back there. Delving into my own childhood memories and life experiences, I have built a repertoire of art works full of pathos and fragile reflections.