Look deep into an animal’s eyes and you will see a being who has emotions just like human beings do. Yet, our everyday urban animals like cows, chickens, goats and monkeys are almost invisible to us, we look the other way when we see them cooped up in cages or tied to be butchered. Artist Gumi Malhotra through her stunning watercolour portraits of everyday animals brings out the emotions of these animals in an exhibition, The Art Affair .
“Equivalent Emotions is the theme of the exhibition. We see animals as commodities or as intruding into our space when in reality it is us who have intruded into theirs. Through my exhibition I want people to feel more responsible towards animals and treat them with compassion and respect.”
Gumi says it is a pleasure to do something for Charlie’s Animal Rescue (CARE), a 1.5 acre animal rescue and shelter that is home to hundreds of rescued animals in Yelahanka. Sudha Narayanan set up CARE in 2013. Speaking of her collaboration with Gumi she praises her compassion. “Gumi had come to the shelter through a common friend. She is such a sensitive person. She showed us her work on tigers. She drew portraits of cats and dogs of the shelter, which sold out, and evoked a lot of responses from people. She later suggested if she could draw our everyday animals. Her portraits of our shelter animals are beautiful. One such painting is of Matilda, a hen that had fallen from a transport truck, someone rescued her, and brought her to our shelter. You should now see Matilda, she lives among our ducks, and is a boss!” says Sudha. The inspiration behind CARE is 15-year-old Charlie, a differently abled, three-legged Indian dog who was a well-known figure in canine therapy since 2005.
The Art Affair will be on view on May 19, 2 pm to 7 pm, at Just Be Cafe, Sadashivnagar (entry fee 100) and at Tata Cha, Indiranagar on May 20, from 11 am to 4 pm.
