WARM WELCOME IS INSPIRING
AN EXCITING new exhibition has opened at Arklow Visual Arts Gallery which will run until Friday, November 23.
Artist Nadia Ramoutar was born in Dublin but emigrated to America with her family in her late teens.
The move was difficult for Nadia but she made the most of it becoming an author, filmmaker, college professor and visual artist. After decades away, she returned to Ireland in September 2018 and is delighted to now live in Arklow.
Nadia loves the history, culture and natural beauty of Wicklow. She is inspired by the warmness of the people and the welcome she is receiving.
Taking long walks in nature daily she has been inspired to take photographs and then create art inspired by the things she sees on the less traveled roads, beaches and by-ways. She likes to think of her work being visually experiential and telling a story for the viewer.
‘Art has always been an expression of beauty and freedom for me that I create from a vivid and diverse palette of colour and mediums. My father was Indian and my mother is Irish so my work reflects elements of both cultures and influences. My work is multi-media and I love to create layers and layers in the images that are often unseen to the average person. I encourage people to touch my work and feel the textures that exist. I constantly innovate with ways to create new effects and use watercolor, ink, acrylic, wood, natural fibers and found items too,’ she says.
‘For many years living in America, I felt exiled. Returning to Ireland has brought me tremendous joy and I feel that shows in the brightness and flow of this work. For many people living here it’s hard to see beyond the weather but for me every day is an adventure in little beautiful details I will never see again. Nature teaches us that if you don’t look now that flower, leaf or wave will change and you will miss it. Being in the the moment is deeply important to me.’
Nadia says that follwing a warm Irish welcome to the community, she is excited to share her latest works.
‘ This show is such an exciting event for me to meet more people and share my images. I am delighted with how welcoming people are to me since arriving here so recently. I made a difficult choice at a fork in the road of my life and it was the best possible choice for my family to take the road not taken, as Robert Frost called it in his iconic poem. I hope this work is a celebration of the courage to come back to Ireland and the appreciation I have for the land. They say you can never come home, but you can be at home with yourself wherever you live.’