Theyyam fires her imagination, gives it colour

It is the colour, the drama and the art of the ritual Theyyam performances in the region that kindled the creativity of Madina Ziganshina as an artist.

Ms. Ziganshina, from Portugal, just happened to see Theyyam performances during her stay here as a tourist. Attracted by the ritual and artistic features of the performances, she gave vent to her creative impressions of Theyyam with brush strokes. She will exhibit her paintings at the Brushman’s art gallery here from March 6.

She completed 15 watercolour paintings on Theyyam in two months. “For two months I was totally involved in the work, doing research, visiting

kavus (sacred groves, where Theyyam performances are conducted) during night to see the performances and painting my impressions in the day time,” she said at a press conference here on Wednesday.

Ms. Ziganshina said she tried to portray the colour contrasts and the facial expressions of the Theyyam performer in her paintings. The creative depiction of the ritual performances on canvas was a big challenge, she said. What attracted her was the dynamism of the Theyyam and its martial movement and its colour. She said Theyyam performers and her friends helped her understand the intricacies of the ritual. She first watched the ritual performance during her visit here in 2012.

Though Ms. Ziganshina was born in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, Russia, she lives in Portugal now. She came here two months ago on an invitation by Travel Kannur, a firm that promotes cultural tourism. She had conducted painting exhibitions in France, Germany, the United States, Italy, Holland, Sweden, and Dubai.

Artist from Portugal will exhibit her works in Kannur.