During the early lockdown months, Vanessa Meister Varma painted close to 100 portraits of women. They were diverse — with different hairstyles, skin types, nose shapes, with and without make-up. The Kochi-based Swiss designer and creative consultant says the project was an exploration of the female identity. “I am a woman who works with visuals and I found myself thinking of ways to change the way women are portrayed in the mainstream media,” she says.
Vanessa used 16 of her portraits to design a rug for Neytt, a home furnishings brand by Cherthala-based company Extraweave. “When we think of rugs, the usual images that come to mind are geometric and abstract patterns. But I wanted mine to be figurative, to have a message, to tell a story,” Vanessa says. When she discussed the idea with the team from Neytt, they shared her enthusiasm.
Beyond functionality
The 5ft x 8 ft rug called the ‘Women Power’ rug is a brightly-coloured mosaic of women’s faces, combining 3D elements, embroidery and even jewellery. Going beyond functionality, it is perfect as a statement wall piece. The rug drew a good response when exhibited at Fiere Inde, an exhibition showcasing luxury furniture and decor brands in New Delhi in December 2021. “People were curious and asked a lot of questions. It is great to see my work start a discussion on important things,” says Vanessa. The company plans to showcase it at the India Design ID showcase in New Delhi in May.
It all began with her son’s storybook, says Vanessa. She was struck by an image of a family in the book. The mother was depicted in a salwar kameez with long hair. “I realised that I didn’t look anything like that. I have short hair and in fact, I looked more like the father in the picture.” She started examining the way women were represented in the public domain.
Beyond traditional concepts
Vanessa’s women go beyond traditional concepts of beauty. They don’t conform to stereotypical gender norms. One of them even sports a moustache, may be a graphic representation of a financially independent woman, or at least one that does as she pleases, says Vanessa.
Some of them are close family members, some are public figures or women she has seen, some others are women she doesn’t know but would like to know better. “I was constantly asking myself questions about these women, their experiences, their personalities. I was thinking of my own experiences in the process,” says Vanessa. “I wanted to represent a broader spectrum of women.”
Playing cards
As an extension of the project, Vanessa made a set of playing cards with these images. While one side of the card features the women’s faces, the other side contains a word. “There are no set rules of playing. You could make up your own game,” she says. Going beyond the obvious love, money and work, Vanessa includes a more complex repertoire with words such as body, pleasure, death, freedom, gender, skill, community, independence and divorce to pick out a few. Even a few Kerala-specific ones like ‘thoran’ and ‘nighty’. “These cards could spark a serious self-exploration or be used for a fun game with friends,” she says. The pack of 91 cards can be purchased on her Instagram handle.
Vanessa has started work on another rug, in black and white, also for Neytt. Her portraits of women, she says, have just begun.
