India is well-known for its cultural and traditional vibrancy that is particularly exhibited through its conventional arts and crafts.
In fact, every region in India has its pattern of folk and tribal arts.
Indian Australian Artists Incorporates (IAA), a Melbourne based not for profit artists community is striving to promote India’s rich art and culture.
It was established in 2017 in and currently has 24 artist members. This organisation is open for artists of all nationalities, gender and background living in Australia.
Their rural folk paintings bear distinctive colourful designs and often mystical motifs.
Sandhya Mohan Padma is a self-taught artist, emerging out of her hobby-painting phase into the real and fascinating world of art.
Her idea about art has been deeply influenced by her Indian upbringing, culture and tradition and hence her Indian background can be seen reflected in most of her works.
Senthil Vel R. S. is also a self taught artist who has worked with pencil sketches, water and oil mediums.
He learnt traditional South Indian Tanjore painting and worked with clay sculpting and is inspired by deep emotions of people, wildlife and nature.
Gayathri Vidhya is a Power Electronics Engineer for whom drawing and art was a world away.
She says:
“Having had an interest in history and drawings since childhood, I took up Tanjore Paintings because of its associated cultural heritage. I learnt it from a couple of teachers, my style of Tanjore painting is in its traditional form where I use poster colours as the medium along with 22 carat gold foil, AD stones and Pearls to bring out its richness. Over the last 3-4 years Tanjore Paintings has become my passion and having a highly supportive family helps; be it my understanding kids who give me the time as well as my husband who is my greatest supporter and also happens to be my hardest critique. I feel every new painting is another new beginning, a learning curve which teaches me that extra bit more, pushes me to strive for that extra bit of perfection.”
Bhadra Kaushik Thotath is a self-made artist who has specialized in Kerala Mural paintings.
By qualification, she is a post graduate in physics but has always held art very close to her heart since childhood.
“My love for art was passed on to me from her father as I grew up watching him paint.”
She went on to learn her basics in mural painting from Sri Dileep Swastik who is an artist at “Guruvayur Mural Painting Institute’.
These artists, under IAA, are organising a unique exhibition of their works at the Library at the Dock, Victoria Harbour Promenade
in Docklands.
This free exhibition will take place from Wednesday 24 March to Thursday 15 April.
