A colorful new exhibition opened at Artistry this past weekend, by a Singapore-based ad-creative-by-day-artist-by-night. Bhavna Shivayogimath‘s The Topless Liberation Front feels like a cross between a Pop Art color palette and a Gauguin-esque figurative style, but what the series of paintings depicts is playful scenes from contemporary urban life. Five percent of the sales of the artwork will go to Seva Sadan, a female-focused non-profit organization based in India.
Here we speak to Bhavna about how she finds time for her art, her own experiences as a woman in Singapore and the story behind some of her strangest images.
Bhavna Shivayogimath
Tell us about the name that you’ve chosen for the exhibition.
I wanted something that would imply that all the women depicted in the series are part of a gang or are guerrillas, but also capture the humor. So I first came up with The Topless Femme Club, but that didn’t feel badass enough. Then my husband suggested The Topless Liberation Front and I thought that was pretty funny, so I went with it.
Tell us about your creative process and how you find the story/inspiration behind your pieces. For example: Babe, All Our Eggs Are Fried!
Babe, All Our Eggs Are Fried!
My starting point is usually photographs. I archive images that I see in magazines or on my social feed that grab my attention, and I use them as a point of reference for the figures. Once I have the main subjects laid out I then work very intuitively, experimenting with different media and finding ways to visually translate my thoughts. The way I internalize the things that I see around me is through a lens of humor and so I let that dictate my work. Babe, All Our Eggs Are Fried! depicts two women lounging on a couch with fried eggs on their heads. This piece addresses the issues of fertility and the pressure of the biological clock ticking for women
The work has a very specific style and color palette. Tell us a bit about how you make those choices.
I tend to have the main subjects, the females, drawn out in bold lines because I want to accentuate the female form. I think a woman’s relationship to her body is a big part of her identity, so that’s what I am trying to highlight by using this approach. I usually have very few elements in the environment, just enough to give some context, and I elaborate on these individual items by painting them with ornate motifs.
You have a professional background in advertising. What prompted you to pursue art, and specifically this exhibition?
Well, making art was a big part of my upbringing. Almost everyone in my family draws or paints — my mom, aunts, uncles and grandma. My aunt, who is an artist in Mysore, is a big influence for me because I grew up with her work and spent my school holidays learning from her. So making art has always been with me but only recently have I started taking it more seriously .
Bad Feminist Selfie
Tell us about the organization this exhibition will help. Why did you choose to work with them?
I chose Seva Sedan because their focus is not just on charity but on education, self-sufficiency and financial independence for destitute girls, who would otherwise be living on the streets with no means to improve their lives. And also because my close friend’s mom and aunt are on the board so I know its legit and they will be accountable for the money sent over.
Would you consider your work feminist art?
This is my first show and I feel that I have only scratched the surface of my artistic practice at this point, so it’s hard to say. But I want to continue representing female voices in my work and I want it to function with or without it being categorised as feminist art.
One Last Drink
What have your experiences in the arts been in Singapore?
