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Artist Indira Richards:
Her story told in art
Indira Richards is possessed by her
own art that never deviates from her system. What she thinks and
imagines, they all make up her unusual art. Her theme is around living
creatures, and uses earthy colours.
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‘Creatures from the Genesis’. Story from the Bible. Wall
painting |
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‘And God created fish’ - oil-on-canvas.
Many paintings grouped together by Indira Richards. |
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‘As night fall’ by Indira Richards. Panel drawing.
Oil-on-canvas. |
One visit to her home, you will see a replica of an old fireplace in
good use that she designed herself, doors painted in gold with a leopard
in guard leading to the cloakroom. A unicorn opens her bathroom door.
The walls and beams of her home are ornamented by tiles. The paintings
and sculpture are the visual expressions of the wholesome artist in her.
They all pour out from her artistic imagination.
Her garden is filled with mythical figures that lead up to the patio.
Indira Richards is inspired with what has happened around her world.
She sees the New World that arose from the catastrophe of September
9/11, the horrors of which gripped her. The frieze begins with an array
of scenes from the modern world which are a combination of the human,
animal and spiritual worlds. According to her, the wrath of God falls
most heavily on the most intelligent animal on this planet, Man. This is
because the Man has the greatest intelligence amongst all creatures and
is nevertheless instrumental in causing the destruction of the planet.
All these and more ideas are created in her mind and subconsciously,
dominate her art which are very unusual and different. Her work has a
deep meaning and one could feel and read many messages therein.
According to Richards the Creator decides the Earth must be destroyed
by fire and the last species to die in flames were birds, because they
could fly. These ideas are found in her panel-painting.
Each time Richards visits Sri Lanka she sees her country of birth
with new eyes. She is inspired with Sri Lankan ways and fascinated by
the Bible and its stories, especially Genesis that talks of Creation and
says that on the fifth day God created fish and sent them downstream. On
the banks of these streams were artichokes. To her artichokes represent
all that is primeval and pristine going back to the time of Adam and
Eve.
The fields of artichokes are on fire. As they burn they morph into
creatures that fall into the river.
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'Then God commanded, 'Let the water be
filled with many kinds of living beings and the air be filled with
birds. So God created the great sea monsters, all kinds of creatures
that live in water and all kinds of birds. And God was pleased with what
he saw. He blessed them all and told the creatures that live in the
water to reproduce and to fill the sea and he told the birds to increase
in number. Evening passed and morning came... that was the fifth day.'
Genesis. Chapter 1. 20-23
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