All women have an artist in them, and when it comes to aspiring painter Zabi Ayinikat, ‘Ekam’ is the outcome of the artist in her.
The collection, hosted at The Leela Palace recently, is her first and the canvas captures infinite emotions from the sphere of a woman’s mind and soul.
On the professional front, advertising had been her calling. A journey of over two decades beginning as an art director, to setting up independent agency Mantrasz went on to redefine her love for creativity. Seeking more independence, she called it quits to start her saga in art.
“I love painting women,” says Zabi, a single woman who broke all conventions, adopted a baby girl and lives on her own terms. “Painting emotions has always appealed to me and I like the way it comes out beautifully in the female form. Throughout this series, I am emphasising on the sensuality of a woman and how it is not based on her outer appearance but rather, on what she is within.”
The nine paintings in the series unfold different facets and moods of a woman, and pulsate with colours, patterns and deft strokes.
Speaking about her affinity for art, Zabi says that the urge to do something by expressing oneself brought her closer to the canvas and paints. “I started painting after 20 years, even though it was there in me always. Even my father wanted me to be an artist, but I went ahead and got into advertising,” she recalls and adds: “I have always been a woman who has lived her dream.”
Her first painting was of her seven-year-old daughter, which was her first oil on canvas with no training in fine arts. “I love detailing, and getting it more realistic, like in a photograph. It is more about getting the emotions out in realistic forms,” Zabi says.
Talking about her favourite in the collection, she mentions the painting in which she has portrayed a woman lying over a pile of dry leaves. “The dry leaves in the painting symbolises the abandoned ones. A woman has so much of power in her that she even takes care of the ones who are left out. So that painting is close to me.”
With a positive approach, the painter expresses her wish to be recognised as an artist. On her future projects, she chuckles and says, “My life itself is a big story. This is just the first chapter and there is lot to come in future.”
