BENGALURU : In this fast-paced life, we often tend to take self-love for granted. In an effort to overcome this, city-based photographer Lakshmi M Nair has started a self portrait series – The Goddess in you – where she is recreating some of the Raja Ravi Varma paintings with contemporary items and thoughts.
Nair says the pictures come from what she feels and are derived from her emotions. “It turned into a self-portrait series because there was no one else to click my pictures,” laughs Nair, continuing, “I have always been critical about myself. But when I was introduced to photography, it gave me a lot of time for self-introspection.” The idea for this project came while she was sorting through her cupboard and found some silk saris. “But then, changing the way I dressed wouldn’t change how I thought,” she explains.
About choosing Raja Ravi Varma’s paintings, she says, “He has been a feminist and advocate of women’s rights. He tried to break gender stereotypes and his work has always been extraordinary.” She then recreated the paintings according to what she was going through. For example, she recreated Madri – lady with the fruit – using a helmet. “I have always been a bike rider.
But coming from a conservative family, that’s not normal,” says 34-year-old Nair, who specialises in street photography. In some pictures, however, it’s the concept that she wanted to bring to light. For instance, she recreated Damayanti – lady with the swan – in a kitchen while holding a travel book.
“The original picture is about a lady speaking her heart out to the swan. For me, I might be working in the kitchen, but my heart will be in the mountains,” explains Nair, who has been receiving many positive messages. “One lady told me she related to the pictures and would change the way she looks at herself. Even if the pictures bring in positive change for one person, my attempt would be successful,” says Nair.