Artist explores expressionism on three diverse mediums

Born into a family of goldsmiths, Uma’s creative indulgence started right from her childhood. “Apart from my own family’s craftsmanship, I grew up admiring the work of two great men, Mahakavi Bharathi and Pablo Picasso, both of who have shaped my creative expression in many ways. Mahakavi Bharathi was a revolutionary poet of his times and a non-conformist. His poetry about liberating and empowering women was much ahead of his times. Meanwhile, Picasso redefined art and created a new form called Cubism when there was only realistic art,” says Uma, who recently launched her exhibition at Art Houz. The exhibition, 31 — Melange, that will be on display till April 14, features her works on three different mediums — painting, poetry and photography.

But why three mediums? “Why not? I wanted to express myself holistically. For me, if I just put my paintings separately, then that is not a complete way of expressing myself. Each of my works, across mediums, is from real-life experiences. So, showing just one form of expression wouldn’t do justice,” says Uma. 

Her poems and paintings portray women empowerment. “I hope and believe that I will inspire fellow women to pursue their passion without getting lost in their individual roles they play in a family or in their work life. I have often found it very disconcerting when people box and define women by the virtue of the roles they play. Who is anyone to define us? Shouldn’t we be the one to determine who we want to be and what roles we want to play,” she asks. 

Meanwhile, the photography section is testimony to her love for animals. Her trips to Masai Mara, Kenya, where she spent time in the camps observing wild animals from close quarters, have also been documented. She says it reinstated her belief in co-existence. 

“Animals, like us, are born free and need to be set free. My animal photography is to demonstrate the beauty of animals when you set them free. The law of co-existence is so imbalanced today that it scares me of the world that we leave behind for our future generation who will only be able to see digital representations of animals. Through my wildlife photography, I aim to highlight the dangers of our community’s brutality against animals, by reflecting the beauty of the animal kingdom and reminding us of what we will lose if we do not stop now,” says Uma, who has a Master’s degree in visual communication from Loyola College.