Once a ladybird beetle perched on the palm of dancer-painter Kalamandalam Bindhulekha. Fascinated with its bright colours and delightful design, she decided to capture it on a canvas. This was just a trigger. Later, butterflies, moths, beetles, grasshoppers and dragonflies became her favourite subjects for paintings.
‘Insects’, an ongoing exhibition of paintings at the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi’s art gallery by Ms. Bindhulekha, generates curiosity and appreciation for the tiny world of insects. The exhibition is an effective catalyst for creating awareness about and inspiration for knowing more about the insects around us.
“Interestingly, human beings share 61% of their DNA with insects. That means many human genes and insect genes are the same and function quite similarly. We lived and evolved together with them. This journey had witnessed times of war and peace. While locust swarms spread famine and mosquitoes injected us with many disease-causing viruses, even the best chemical labs have not yet invented the chemistry of making honey, silk, lac or wax,” noted T.V. Sajeev, an art connoisseur and chief scientist of the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi.
A trained dancer, Ms. Bindhulekha, chose karuna (compassion) and shantham (peace) of the nine rasas to portray insects. The vivid colours and unique painting technique remain relatively consistent throughout the works.
“I am essentially a mural painter. My first exhibition was ‘Lasya’ which was done using the scope of dance in mural painting,” she says.
Ms. Bindhulekha has done several solo and group shows. ‘Insects’, which displays 25 paintings from her collection, will conclude on Wednesday.
