Kochi-based Swiss designer and creative consultant Vanessa Meister brought 100 of her portraits together in a show, ‘Woman’, held recently at the David Hall Art Gallery in Fort Kochi.
The portraits turned the conventional concept of beauty on its head. “All these women I have painted have different features, types of hair, nose shapes and expression. Some have make-up on, some don’t. One even has a moustache! The idea is to move away from the stereotypical ways in which women are depicted in the public domain and offer a broader perspective,” says Vanessa.
Through her work, she hopes to open up discussions around gender in a creative way.
She painted these portraits during the initial lockdown months, exploring the meaning of being a woman in this day and age in India or anywhere in the world. The original portraits are painted in acrylic on canvas of different sizes – from 4ft x 6ft to 10 x12 inches – and are interactive, containing 3D elements such as embroidery and jewellery.
Sixteen of these portraits were used in a rug Vanessa designed for Neytt, a home furnishings brand by Cherthala-based company Extraweaves in 2021. The 5ft x 8ft rug, titled ‘Women Power’, was showcased at Fiere Inde, an exhibition of luxury furniture and decor brands in New Delhi the same year. It was also shown at the India Design ID in New Delhi. “I am happy to haven been able to show my work in Kochi; it was my first formal exhibition in the city and it is an important theme,” she says.
As an extension of her project on women, she had also brought out a set of playing cards with these images. One side of the card carries the portrait and the other, a word. The words, ranging from ‘love’ to ‘work’, ‘pleasure’, ‘divorce’, ‘independence’, can be used as a starting point for a discussion among a group of people. It is up to the players to make up the rules as they go along, says Vanessa.
“This project aims to question gender and identity in a personal, fun and impactful way,” says Vanessa.
Vanessa has lived in Kochi since 2010 and much of her inspiration is fuelled by the colours and the character of the city. Her work, which covers art, design and fashion, is defined by the bold use of colour and is often a combination of analog and digital techniques.
