For her Woman of Bangalore project, French artist Olympe Ramakrishna has created a series of oil paintings of close friends. Other artists might have stopped there, but Olympe decided to give her work a twist. Using digital tech, she has printed the images from her canvases on silk saris. The results, currently on display at the French Gallery at Alliance Francaise Ahmedabad, are quite enchanting.
Instead of paintings put up on walls, there are saris hung from the ceiling, which makes for 3D viewing. The visitors weave around the artworks, viewing them from all sides. With some Merlot and fromage, one can imagine oneself at a party full of charming women, including the artist herself, some in modern day outfits, others in costumes reminiscent of a different era. “These women are my friends,” says Olympe, “and I have given them clothes and accessories that fit their history.”
Olympe lists Mughal miniatures as one of her influences (along with Amrita Sher-gil and Henri Rousseau) and this comes through in many of her paintings. In one portrait, she dresses her friend Sneha in a warrior outfit and in another painting, her friend Arpitha is dressed in pomegranates themed accessories. “Pomegranates are a symbol of feminism,” says Olympe, “and feminism is the underlying theme of all my work.”
There is also a portrait of the curly-haired Kavitha in a blue dress, with no accessories at all. “What is special about this portrait is the way she is sitting. It is a typical Indian posture which requires a lot of flexibility. Most European women would not be able to manage it,” says Olympe.
Born in Normandy, Olympe’s first visit to India was as a child, when she accompanied her father to Karnataka to buy silk. After studying art in Paris, she returned to Bangalore as an intern, when she met IT entrepreneur Kiran Ramakrishna, CEO of Rubick.ai, who she married in 2016. Olympe is also a lawyer, specialising in the prevention and redressal of sexual harassment cases under the Indian POSH law and is consultant to several global companies in Bangalore.
Olympe’s work as a corporate consultant and feminist artist sometimes blends. She has recently received a commission from AXON, a cable manufacturer, to do a series of portraits of women workers in their factory.
Ahmedabad is the second city to host The Women of Bangalore exhibition, after it opened in Bangalore. The exhibition is open at the Alliance Francaise till 20 February, after which it moves to Delhi.
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