In the year 2000 my husband came home from the office one day as I was applying make-up for a girls night out. “How do you fancy going to live in India?” he casually asked, while I traced the kohl around my tired eyelids after a busy day with the kids. I don’t remember what I replied exactly but the thought of it sounded exciting if not slightly terrifying. Our children were coming up to 3 and 5 years of age, and as I decided to go with feeling that it could be a good opportunity for change rather than disaster, I agreed to go over with him for a few days to have a look at the place. In a matter of just 6 short weeks we had packed up and rented out our house in Sandyford found a new school, a driver, and a new place to live.
Eternity in a Flower
Sunflower Series - The Cycles of Life
Settling in took some time, and part of that painfull process was made easier through painting. I revisited some sunflower themes that I had started while living in Ireland and traced a spiritual metaphor of the life cycle through the seedling and growth of the sunflower into all its glory then ultimate demise. I grew these giant man high plants in our scant little garden and sketched them as they changed forms from gods into gnarled trunk-like deformaties. Their once flaming petals gone while only the claws from the seedheads remained making angry gestures to the sky. But in the centres, the seed for new life reigned, infinite spirals within the guardianship of a massive womb.
Sunflower photo copyright Kate Bedell
My first exhibition in Bangalore took place in our home. The Sunflower Series featured strongly with other flower paintings, experimental abstracts and a few other random paintings. Although a seminal influence throughout my work, the symbol of the sunflower has remained a strong focus in the way I approach my technique to watercolours. It helped me break the boundaries, introduce collage and allowed me to use saturated colour and gold paint without having to hold back. But there was something missing. I’d been in India for a couple of years, but had not yet painted INDIA. It’s as if I still had a protective shield around myself, and rightly so. It would take a few years before I could settle in and walk in the community.
Amazon (Bangalore)
Expressions - An Exhibition of Indian Women
The reason for our move to Bangalore was the massive growth in the IT sector and with it came a huge change in the infrastructure of the areas around the city. For this, roadworkers from the north of India were employed. From the once sleepy town of Whitefield with shabby little shops and dusty roads strewn with wandering cows, came streams of brighly saree clad women to work on the construction sights. It was an incongruous site and captivated my entire attention. I painted so many of these extraordinary sights and had three more exhibitions at the Sumukha Gallery and Raintree.
In the coming posts I will share some of the Indian women images and their stories.
See more of the prints of paintings here.