What not to miss at Art Dubai

I could easily make this blog very interesting by talking about laughable art. But then I will not do so. I feel responsible to behave appropriately to suit both the fraternities - that of the artist's as well as journalist's. And this makes my life tough on some days. Especially today after having been there and done all that we do at Art Dubai. The press preview of Art Dubai 2014 had me open my eyes on few more interesting stuff.. more metaphorically than literally what was there on display.

Here is what I suggest you don't miss. And I have my favourites. Please pardon me for just recommending a few.

Don't miss MF Husain on display at the Contemporary Gallery... this one is inside the Mina A'Salam hotel.

The winning artists announced by The Abraaj Group Art Prize are Abbas Akhavan (Iran), Anup Mathew Thomas (India), Basim Magdy (Egypt), Bouchra Khalili (Morocco) and Kamrooz Aram (Iran). I particularly loved the delicate sculptures made by Abbas Akhavan. They are cast in bronze and represent authentic fauna from around Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates region... as they were before the colonial advent... during which ships brought other plants from across continents.

Also spend a few minutes at the browsing centre here to read about the selected entries. These are good collaborative artist+writer works worth your time. 

If you have more time to while away... grab the headphones and listen to the run up programmes to the event. I watched the one on pearl diving... that an art team at a Bahraini gallery was talking about and it was interesting to note that diving has significantly contributed to the music in the region too.

This is a screen grab of that talk... [I like the ganesha on his tee].

Inside Gallery 1 checkout the sugar sculptures in a glass cage made by Lebanese artist Pascal Hachem at the Selma Ferani Gallery stand. She surely seems to be really inspired by things in one's kitchen. I liked the roll pins that read 'Each one of us is a future dictator'. [The roll pins with dictatorial words reminded me of my mother swirling one in the air on certain war-like days in the past. Ahem!]

Found this cassette stack interesting. It is made by Maha Malluh [all Indians reading this name please do not read it the way you are reading... the artist is not a 'maha mallu']. Maha is a Saudi Arabian artist. This is also at the same gallery mentioned above.

Now this one took my breath away. Can you believe it is hand painted acrylic work?

This work is by Mehrad Mohebali and is titled Nearly Infinity. Mehrad is an Iranian artist and painter who explores the conflicts of traditional versus modern, young versus old and West versus East.

Another one which made me stare for good 10 minutes is this one by American artist Kehinde Wiley at the Galerie Daniel Templon stand. It is a huge bright oil on canvas work you will spot easily. The artist makes naturalistic paintings of people with black and brown skin in heroic poses.

And this one [far below] can be yours if you have $800,000 to spare. Korean artist Youngjin Jo's oil will soon make it to auction houses, my heart says. These two guys wearing similar tees just caught my eye because they were so uniform! They were manning the 313 Art Project Seol stand where Jo's work is displayed.

If you can, say hi to Ruben Sanchez, the Spanish artist in residency at Tashkeel, who is ever so warm and easy to chat with. His street art installations are there at Bastakiya and Jumeirah. He makes wonderful art in each city... using the stuff that the city throws away. Here is Ruben and a sneak peak to his works on display at the Tashkeel stand.

Of all the sculptures on display, I liked these sleepy men... the most. It is made by Indian artist Jitish Kalat using dental plaster and wood... on display at the Galerie Daniel Templon gallery from Paris. The title of the work happens to be Syzygy. In astronomy, a syzygy is a straight-line configuration of three celestial bodies in a gravitational system. The word is often used in reference to the Sun, Earth and either the Moon or a planet, where the latter is in conjunction or opposition... [Dear Google, I don't think the sculpture means that but thank you anyway.]

At the Cartier gallery... as always they have breathtaking diamonds and precious stones cast in metals that sing a song that only your eyes can hear [yes your eyes can hear... you read that right!]. This time they have a display theme of white versus colour... traditional versus modern... to display the various collections in their original inspirational landscapes. Stunning ornaments were displayed in miniature Oriental pagodas, Indian domes, African huts... also modern skyscrapers of Dubai. I particularly liked the tutti-fruity collection inspired by colours from India, that Jacques Catrier (son of the Alfred Cartier, the founder of the luxury jewelry chain) brought to the West [who were until then not aware that so many colours together can also be fashionable]. I love that dragon circling a bright orange onyx stone... it is the pendant of a 18k diamond necklace with red rubys. And that sleeping dragon there is actually a pen... with a golden nib.

Cartier chose to acquire and display Congolese artist Kimbembele-Ihunga's sculptures/landscape in paper, cardboard, polystyrene, plastic and other recycle materials... a complete contrast to the luxury jewelry on display. The artist's colourful landscape is titled as 'Tribute to My Mother'. He dreams of skyscrapers and a planned modern city with complete amenities for his mother's poor village in Congo. Perhaps it was the artist's cheerful display of hope and dream... despite the current affairs in that part of the world, that inspired Cartier team to choose him.

Here is Kimbembele-Ihunga's work at Art Dubai:

On that note... I conclude my first impressions of this much believed event to a happy ending!

PS: Art Dubai is open to public from 19-22 March... and I shall go back again... and may have more to share. Btw I have not had a chance to look at the press kit. I am so glad my phone works so hard for me clicking pics... to help me remember the who and the what.

Jiva - The Secret Garden

The missing Malaysian jet in the news these days just reminds us how large our mother earth is and how deep her belly of secrets may be. While we try to smarten ourselves with the newest app and keep up with the pace of lessening the divide through latest innovation... there is a part of us that crave for some jungle and its organic calm. The nature connection within us keeps calling. No?

Did you know that Ginger can cure insomnia... or that Easter Lily has the best answer for anxiety? I figured these out only recently.

Exploring wellness from nature through art, I have readied this series that represent medicinal plants in their full bloom. Jiva means 'life' in Sanskrit. I call it a 'secret' garden because we know very little of this huge treasure... and also most of the herbs are extracted from leaves, roots or trunk... not really their flowers. Because flowers draw everyone's attention, I thought it is a good idea to make these beautiful flowers and get the focus down to where it is required.

Medium
Coffee and oil colours on paper

Technique
Knife and bare hands

Innovation
Have used dry and wet mixtures of coffee & water with oil colours. Their respective differences/characters have given this unique result.

Concept
Exploring wellness from nature through this Secret Garden. The series has 12 flowers representing each medicinal plant - with common names like ginger to easter lily.

Cup of Gold Vine

Easter Lily

Oleander

Chinese Honey Suckle

Sweet Pea

Blue Wild Indigo

Ginger

Desert Pea

Yellow Monkey Flower

Handsome Flat Pea

Crown of Thorns

Roscoea 

My reason
Centuries back a clan of learned men crossed rivers and mountains to the plains to occupy pristine hilly lands of south India... and along with them they brought seeds to well being for their future generations. I am talking about my ancestors. My grand father was a planter, who despite being a lawyer by profession lived very close to nature. It must be because of him that I grew fond of herbs and their flowers. My childhood memories are not without those vast forests and its blooming shrubs. The estate was a curious wild place for a long long time... until I grew up old enough to know it was an Ayurvedia garden maintained that way. Each plant there had more than just its colourful flowers that we children plucked to play with.

From the garden there... ginger, lemon, pepper and cinnamon made it to grandma's kitchen too. And there were plenty of others that the local medic would parcel and take behind his little bike.

I learnt that for serious health conditions such as hepatitis b to long-term illnesses such depression and insomnia there is complete cure in herbal medicines. Experts say oncology and aids researchers may eventually find their best medicines in the wild. It is a secret garden out there that we must explore for our own good. Tuning to mother nature is just one of those things that make me nostalgic and happy at the same time. Mixing memories with coffee is just as delightful!

Have I ever mentioned that I was keen on being a doctor and wrote the entrance exam for a medical seat in my country? I got through the state's ayurveda college quota, because my ranks were not good enough for an MBBS seat. My elitist grandfather dismissed me from spending my life around smelly oils and massages, and suggested I could drop an year to repeat attempt as that was ok... as I was an year junior to my classmates for having joined school in a hurry. He also reminded that the next attempt should get me the best seat and that he would not be happy if I were to look into people's mouths for a living. In other words he dismissed BDS (dental) seats. Well, I dismissed his whole idea of dropping an year and learning medicine for 5 years or more?! Instead I chose to explore more of nature, language... self discovery and expression.

Contemporary connection
Today we may still have a long way to go before we accept that there is no one system of healthcare supreme to the other. There are millions who need relief. Fortunately though, humans have a fascinating ability to turn a tough situation on its head with ingenuity and there is a growing realization for the wisdom of past. This is kept alive in traditional systems of medicine that provide crucial answers. Placing trust in age-old herbal remedies is the most non-invasive and economical way to good health and life... me thinks!

The world of modern medicine finds itself in a complex situation. On the one hand, advances in genetics, biotechnology, and stem cells are opening new frontiers in medical research. On the other, antibiotics, the most frequently prescribed medicines in modern medicine, are facing tough new territories that manifest research results to find dangerous/complex chemical compositions.

Ancient health care focused on preventive care. Our modern lifestyles are guided by the corporate policies that often have its support systems depending on modern medicine. Doctors recommending traditional herbal products are those few who are wise enough/rather magnanimous enough to believe and allow maintenance of general health and well-being over their professional pressures. Getting doctors to acknowledge the benefits of traditional medicine is still a uphill task. Especially when heavy grants fund research and development of modern medicines. They have their say. It will be controversial if I mention who pharma companies lure professional medics to play with even their ethics to prescribe/over-prescribe dosages.

My reason to turn to nature can be everybody's reason to a better life.

PS: Not a doctor but I can aid healing... thanks to energy healing passed on by masters... and of course art!

Coffee Tales

In his story, Vendor of Sweets, author R.K. Narayan gives a crash course on how to make an honest cup of south Indian filter coffee. On one of his visits to the United States, at a coffee counter, the author was asked, "Black or white?" "Neither," replied Narayan. "I want it brown. That's how we make it in south India."

Brown, milky and sweet, that is how I too love my coffee. Perfectly the South Indian way. I come from a household that grew and brew its own coffee. My maternal grandfather used to grow coffee along with rubber and other crops. Though the estate was replanted as more money grew on rubber trees [did i just write that line!] we always had enough coffee for domestic consumption. Branded coffee was tasted much later. The first brand of coffee to enter our kitchen was Bru. It became fashionable to sprinkle a little Bru on the freshly frothed coffee almost brimming to fall off the tumbler.

Children were not allowed to drink coffee. Grandma believed, "You would become dark like a roasted coffee bean." I have driven her nuts by stealing and drinking coffee even from her maid's glass. Drinking from the house maid's glass was forbidden and if caught the poor maid also got a yell. Grandma was not just an elitist but was also a coffee expert. A simple whiff from the store-bought coffee and she would tell how much chicory it had. Her huge kitchen was my favourite place to explore [or spill the long dripping decoction filter across the kitchen floor] ... and when she would have had enough of me grandpa would take me to the estate. Chandra Estate was etched on its metal gates. The estate was a beautiful piece of land grandpa's ancestors left for him by the banks of river Kallada in south of India. I vividly remember ambling there...  picking, smelling, biting and spitting out the bitter raw coffee bean... just like the estate monkeys did. Children were luckier than monkeys cos the watchman never shot us down for doing that - chewing n spitting bean. A dead monkey was usually hung by a tall branch to shoo others off. With lesser coffee trees this brutal ritual ended.

Coffee works displayed at Courtyard Gallery Dubai

It was much later and at a different place altogether that I took to painting with coffee. It happened in the summers of 2009 in Dubai.

Art with coffee stains on canvas is an inspired thought that struck me like a bolt from the blue. May seem silly but it was a closer look at my stained white coasters that actually gave me the idea that coffee can make tough but brilliant stains. So I don't really paint with coffee. I make stains. Stains that will last as long as they can... unfazed. I drip the decoction on canvas cloth. Use spoons and knives to make tiny rivulets. Arrest the flow where I wish. Blow. Blot. Bake. Spatter dry coffee on wet surface. I have explored most aspects of its diuretic nature to play the medium to its maximum benefit.

For those who ask me does it fade? Here is the answer. I use various coatings to keep the colour just as crisp as it should. Some even ask if it is water resistant. I normally don't go into the details of what fine art is and should be treated like. But sometimes you have no choice when someone is curious about the work. The wonderful thing is that coffee rocks! Coffee art broke the glass ceiling... galleries called for them... commissions came... event organisers wanted to sponsor my solos. Soon coffee art became almost my second name [almost ;)]. Even though my oils made with palette knife has its fans, coffee amuses differently. "Wow can I smell it" - is one line that keeps me amused too. Will blog about my oils in another post.

I am nostalgic, nocturnal and love nature. These things reflect in my works. I am hugely influenced by English literature and music my family had followers ever since I was a child.... from Wordsworth to heavy metal to country numbers to reggae numbers. Mostly Bob Marley, Simon & Garfunkel, Carpenters, Gun & Roses play while I am at work. I have noticed this music is loved by my students too. Most of them were new to the old numbers when they joined me but now each one has a favourite from my play list and it makes me so happy - you have no idea!

Here are some of my coffee works from the Cup of Joy Series... with their individual stories. In this series I have used Indian, Italian and Turkish variety of coffees. Each has its own magnificent hue and unique properties. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did while making em.

jack sparrow_30x40cm

jack sparrow
if winds can whistle
if rocks can dance
if trees can walk
if caves can roar
if waves can rise
if ships can sail
if charms can robe
jack can sparrow
- blu

panda pandora_30x40cm

panda pandora
from china with love
who is this cool fella?
zebra's fat cousin?
bear's peaceful brother?
he slips into the marshes
to cool off by the shrubs
to munch on bamboo shoots
to watch the world go by
- blu

come autumn_30x40cm

come autumn
last autumn the little boy came
picked the fallen leaves
ran home to show
the first of the season
this year too the boy came
saw golden leaves and clapped
like a charm they rained
all over him, all of a sudden
he opened his arms wide
jumping and shrieking in joy
calling out again and again
come autumn, fall all over me
-blu

Dream Weaver_1x1mt on display at Al Ain's Al Qattara Art Centre

dream weaver
she is a traditional sado weaver in her thatched palm home-workshop…
she dreams and weaves out colours beyond what eyes can see…
her lover swings his shepherd’s hook while he walks away to the hills…
he sings to his sheep and the mountains echo his song…
winds from the desert carry the song to his beloved who smiles behind her veil…
they sing her to dream on while her busy hands weave him a new gift…
-blu

abercrombie_30x40cm

abercrombie

he is a winner

he chases the winds

or is it the other way?

even bolts from the blue

cannot slow him down

abby... that is his master's call

to which he comes prancing

like a little puppy would

a winner, mighty sweet boy

-blu

who will love a little sparrow?_30x40cm

who will love a little sparrow?
she might be lonely
wet and caught in the rain
the trees are wet
so are their branches
but she loves the rain
though she cant fly
she loves its sound
of drops on the puddle
winds clear the clouds
sun is up and her wings dry
she chirps her way back home
to where her heart is
to the oak tree here you see...
down under the meadows
- blu

tuscan dream_30x40cm

tuscan dream
in the summer of 2008
i walked by her stunning beauty
though heaven on earth
tuscany, they call her
with hay rolled up
wind warm and crisp
sky-tall cypress trees
dotting the horizon
with sunflowers and poppies
skirting the corn fields
pink skies, golden earth
yellow and red flowers
olive green trees
a stream of dream
that has become true
-blu

oh hummingbird lend us your wings_30x40cm

oh hummingbird lend us your wings
oh humming bird
i wish i were you
to stay flying
floating next to poppies
intoxicated in nectar
dotting the blue
humming my songs
in the ears of the weeds
whistling in the wind
shaking off its seeds
that fly to the land
where they sleep
until next summers
to sprout, flower and sing
come to me dear
oh little humming bird
- blu

owl we need is love and coffee_30x40

owl we need is love and coffee...

she is ullu, the wicked owl
she lives in the woodpecker's hole
she sleeps all day
she wakes up at night

she has no friend
she is spooky an cold
her neighbors are ghosts
their dog howls at her sight

her neck turns all round
her eyes are bright and round
she sweeps down to pick the mice
she frowns but that is her smile

-blu

puppy love_30x40cm

puppy love
when eddie was a puppy
she would just lick
lick till she knows
you are one with her
warmth of her tongue
on my palms
her cold nose
on the nape of my neck
a puppy is pure joy
her love is beyond the skies
-blu

manimal_30x40cm

manimal
man on animal
animal with man
mankind's joy
kind is it?
man on a misson
finishing on time
winner he is
when man is animal
- blu



Saved the best for the last... Buffalo Soldier Bob Marley and Dubai Ruler Sheikh Mohammad two of my favorite portraits in coffee...

Buffalo Soldier on display at Dubai's Meydan Hotel

I Love Shk Mo is with his highness himself... in return he gifted a signed copy of his autobiography.

Happy Valentine's Day

I always looked down upon celebrations that were commercialized and blown out of proportion.

Here is a story. Little B'lu asked dad about why Santa does not come to her home despite putting the star outside. He told her the story of how a carbonated sugary drink made the lesser known Santa Claus world famous. Later when she looked at the Coca Cola ads she understood why perhaps Santa wore red and white [or is it the the other way round?].

You cannot blame him for bursting my bubble. He was a Marxian [is Marxist a better word?] who even named one of my sisters Mao [I call her Cherry don't ask me why!] cos her doe-eyes reminded him of great Mao Zedong. I don't drink the popular drink because of a busted tale, but it has over 10 spoons of sugar and its sugarfree-option has aspartame which is not a good chemical.

This blog is actually meant to talk about V-day and a unique new product made with heART.

Two artists [Ashvin & B'lu] who decided to take the world by a storm have resorted to painting t-shirts for the time being. We created Freakybunny range of unique tees to celebrate uniqueness that define each one of us.

We are not against Coca Cola or capitalism. Nor do we stand for Karl Marx. We love colours, yoga, music, internet, animated movies, french fries, Simpsons and the Keep Calm series. We are bohemians in spirit but that is not as evident if you look at us because we don't wear tattoos or sport a mohawk hairdo [we don't even have the essential pony tail to look arty enough! I have gone for a super short hairdo after years of river-long mane that mostly stayed strangled in a bun]. We are minus standout tattoos or hairdos to keep calm and focused on creating unique art via Freakybunny T-shirts (FBT). If you love the unique you just as much as we do, FBT is what you should be wearing.

Here are some of the tees from Freakybunny's heART series that can be worn round the year... but if you insist it can be the most unique gift for your loved ones on V-day too ;). Simply wear your heART on your tee!

Trivia: FBT is custom made to match the softness and thread count of luxury brands such as Armani Jeans T-shirts, Givenchy and Diesel. The t-shirts come from India's finest looms. They fall under the relaxed-style fit and come in unisex and female models in M, L and XL sizes. The colours are tested and meant to last a lifetime. As a policy, after completing a tee, we destroy our design stencils to keep our creative brain spill original art on each canvas [read tee!]. When we say it is unique and affordable art, we really do mean that. You can wear it or frame it!

FBT can be shopped online through its Facebook page or Avenue247 and a part of each sale go to animal rescue team of Sandy Paws based in the UAE. Each tee is priced at Dh199/-

FBT has launched five series so far - The Dreamcatcher, Sakura, heART, Tribal Tattoo, Attack of the Skulls. View the complete collection at Facebook page here.

Special Thanks to fashion photographer Anoop Devaraj for our first brochure. Ecuadorian beauty Andre Caicedo along with hunks Nitish Varma and Sam flaunt FBT in their unique styles. FBT chose not to choreograph/direct this fashion shoot to allow the real essence of the brand exude. The models were given full freedom to pick accessories and pose just as they pleased. We chose one of Dubai's oldest standing buildings for the shoot. The venue is one magical Ahmedia Heritage Guest House nestled in old Deira town.

FBT wishes you luck to stay just as unique as you are. Thank you for all the thumbs ups, shares, love and support.

Stay tuned to watch us debut on Dubai ramp soon!