Artist Shalini Seereeram believes in being creative, productive and continually challenging herself to do and see things differently.
She said she works on her art every day, except for the times she is “on the road.” But once she has a minute, she is thinking about or sketching ideas for something new to create.
Her latest challenge to herself, the use of 3D in mixed media, is on display at The Awakening, a solo exhibition at Soft Box Gallery, St Clair.
For The Awakening, Seereeram produced 21 pieces with elements of mosaics, painting, collage and sculpting. There is a strong East Indian influence in her use of flowers, hues of blue and human figures. They also include beads, stones, fabric, bottle caps, driftwood, wire, tile and glass which adds colour, texture and vibrancy to her work.
She told WMN when she started working on pieces for her show, she felt as if something was holding her back and distracting her. A friend suggested meditation and the clearing of her chakras.
“These are not things that I normally like to believe in or dare to even entertain. But I said, ‘Let me give it a chance and go through a meditation session.’ I went through it and so much of opened in me and so much was cleansed from me, and so much cleared for me and there was so much relief.
[caption id="attachment_1111380" align="alignnone" width="768"] The work of artist Shalini Seereeram has been exhibited in TT, Barbados, the United Arab Emirates, England and the US. - Anygraaf Guest Account[/caption]
“That was the catalyst for me to start doing this work, and I started observing things a bit differently. It was an awakening.”
She said she generally had very busy days, so she created a sanctuary at her home in Chaguanas by surrounding herself with plants, including fruit trees, and her ten dogs. When she did the meditation session, she realised the sanctuary she created outside of herself was not reflected inside herself, and it allowed her to connect the two.
As she gained new clarity and saw new connections in “fragments of life,” it translated to her work. This included the theme of nature, represented in her use of lotus flowers and the element of water.
In addition, she said she has been experimenting with three dimensions and wanted to challenge herself for this exhibition. She bought a scroll saw to create body parts, and between the wooden pieces and pieces of glass for the mosaic touches, she felt she was making her own jigsaw puzzles.
[caption id="attachment_1111384" align="alignnone" width="1024"] The Seeker. - Anygraaf Guest Account[/caption]
“I wanted to challenge myself to do a three-dimensional show even though it was a little dangerous using the saws or glass that cut my hands or sanding stuff that sand my skin off.
“Being a person who does not have formal training in a lot of these things, I am challenging myself to learn how to use these tools.”
As with much of her work, there is also an Indian aesthetic. She said her grandfather was an indentured labourer but the connection with her ance
