Verdel Bishop
At first glance, the paintings by emerging artist Kareena Sirjoo resemble Renaissance portraiture. The artist’s work, which is characterised by the influence of her intrigue with human anatomy, was recently on show at Horizon’s Art Gallery as part of the Art Gallery’s 5th annual exhibition of emerging artists.
Sirjoo’s aim in her latest body of work is to spark people’s interest in portraiture and show how important this genre is to art and history.A closer look at one of her pieces, titled “Divinity”, allows the viewer to be drawn into the melancholy world of a young woman dressed in Indian bridal wear with a virgin mary-esque golden halo. When questioned about this painting, Sirjoo asserted that the piece is a commentary on how religion and culture have shaped the way men view women and young girls in today’s modern culture.
“Recently I have seen many discussions where some men have stated that a woman’s virginity or body count is what makes them worthy of marriage. It really made me wonder how so many cultures throughout time have kept these standards for women but not for men and where they stemmed from. How the weight of this standard can smother a young girl, like the very sad girl in my painting, is thrust into marriage and held on a pedestal for something as simple as the allure of purity,” Sirjoo said.
The 24-year-old from Rio Claro said portraiture connects her to more than just human anatomy. “I specialise in portraiture and realism. I have a deep connection with this form of art as it allows me to really study a person in a more intimate way.
She added, “There is so much we can learn from a human face. We communicate with our facial expressions, and all these emotions and stories of such complex beings can be told from just looking at their faces. I always find it fascinating how much we can convey through even just our eyes.
“Portraiture throughout history has connected us with people we otherwise could not have met before photography. Being able to physically see them and who they were, seeing them through the eyes of the painter. It’s a wonderful feeling to be able to uphold this long-standing art form, breathing new life into it from my own perspective while respecting the artists who have paved the way for me,” Sirjoo said.
Telling the story of our culture is also at the forefront of her work.
“My body of work recently has been almost like a love letter to traditional culture and traditional art. I think it’s important to show our culture in its purest forms and how it has shaped us as people. I have also been trying to show how many people today have beautifully blended multiple cultures and modern culture into one. Just taking time to appreciate our fashion, bodies, and practices shows how unique and special we all are. I want to show people how interesting some of the things we take for granted are, and to find beauty in even the smallest details around us.”
While there were just five pieces of Sirjoo’s work on display at Horizons, she has worked on many paintings throughout her career. She hopes to build a portfolio of about 50 original pieces by the end of the year.
She said, “I work pretty fast because of my background in commission. For this exhibition, it took me about three months for the most part to complete my pieces. My biggest pieces took one month to complete because of all the detail. My other pieces only took a couple of days each to complete, and the smallest pieces took one day each,” she said.
She added, “Working on my pieces for new faces definitely taught me to try different techniques and how to work faster while still producing high quality work. At the time, my dear friend and mentor Marissa Yung Lee had been teaching me some techniques to help me loosen up my style a bit. This can be seen in my pieces as the style does fluctuate throughout.
Sirjoo will next showcase her work at Arnims Galleria on November 28, for two weeks. “I am currently preparing for that and also taking small commissions where I can fit them in.”
