When painting becomes therapeutic and offers release from worldly pain
Artist Bakula Nayak, who recently undertook a project to recreate Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits in a more cheerful and positive register, speaks to Bhumika Popli about her personal struggles with a chronic ailment and how art can be used as therapy.
Frida using her own imagination and she filled those with good cheer and delight. In one of the re-imagined works, titled Me and My Doll, Nayak has placed a canary bird into the arms of Frida, whereas in the original 1937 work the doll is seated next to the artist. Nayak, through her artworks, has given the positive expression of parental love which Frida was longing to shower on someone. The yellow, canary-like bird in Nayak’s series is looking at Frida and the protagonist is seemingly radiating warmth towards the bird imagined as child. Nayak has given a sort of “happy twist” to the paintings of the renowned artist. This new visualisation, like all her paintings, is created using ink and watercolour on an envelope.
Reflecting on her choice of this unusual medium, she says, “I am fond of collecting vintage paper since child- hood. If I find that the paper is already facing some wear and tear, I don’t draw on it and apart from this I often take my papers to the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) where they check the sheets for their durability. I regularly place the papers under the sun so that insects, if any, move out.”
Nayak has painted on many surfaces. “Till date I have painted on maps, letters, envelopes, car catalogues, medical prescriptions, railway goods bills, ice cream bills, receipts, poetry books, atlas, legal papers, love letters, mechanical drawings and music sheets. I notice that such vintage papers are of utmost value. They hold a certain story. This little piece of paper has lived its life and witnessed many things. Objects such as old maps, books and so on channel my visualisation. Together with the