KOCHI:Sombre yet intense, her paintings portray deep social realities through simple everyday images. Artist Leenaraj R, one of the two female artists featured at the Rebounds art exhibition in Shanghumugham, has beautifully condensed varied motifs in her works. Four of her paintings - Master of Prophets, Instinct of Survival, Bundle of Hope and Ancestral Wisdom - on display at Rebounds, largely reflect her thoughts on the importance of coexistence and the skewed understanding of humans in this respect.
Human beings today, are selfish creatures and even if they choose to care for fellow beings, it only translates to compassion and understanding towards others of the same species, she feels. Leenaraj, through her works, wishes to redefine or rather remind the audience what it means to co-exist. Therefore, marginalisation of nature and human attitudes towards fellow inhabitants of the earth are recurring themes in her paintings. “Humans are not the only species deserving of love, respect and empathy,” says Leenaraj. “Fellow beings not only refer to other humans but also all other living creatures that grace the face of our planet. Today, humans have a misconstrued idea of mutual dependence. In my paintings, I have mostly played with the idea of ‘home’ and of what it actually means to be inclusive and accommodating, of everything and everyone, in today’s world.”
Through her bold strokes, Leenaraj throws light on the growing intolerance and violence towards the culturally and geographically marginalised, thereby giving voice to the otherwise unheard and voiceless spaces.
After graduating from Raja Ravi Varma College of Fine Arts in 2006, she went on to pursue post-graduation at RLV College of Fine Arts. Over the years, she has been a part of several workshops and art shows across India, excluding her solo shows.