BENGALURU: Every single day when I wake up, I feel strange and I can’t believe that I am in such a surreal and unprecedented situation. Life has changed like never before, but I thought to myself that the show must goon irrespective of the situation and make the best out of it. I have transformed my truthful melancholy into a tranquil, healing energy and created relevant art work and poems during this lockdown. Creativity is my life force and as an art therapist, I help individuals in self-regulation, rehabilitation and emotional wellbeing.
During these long and unexpected bouts of selfisolation, many people are reaching out to me for my recently published adult colouring book, which retails for `500, since they find it very therapeutic. Most of these books are taken by people within my gated community or else, I send images by email for someone to print them out and colour them.
Colouring goes beyond being a fun activity. It controls anxiety and relaxes your mind. For me, it’s emotionally rewarding to see someone benefiting from my help. This is the best thing I can do as an artist. I am using social media as my canvas to create awareness about how to embrace uncertainty, maintain emotional balance and how to stay calm in crisis through my quotes, illustrations and online sessions. I always tell them to experience all emotions and train their mind to connect with their inner wisdom and develop emotional agility
Even though I was following the news regularly when I went to Singapore in the first week of February for my show, it is only now that I have realised the magnitude of the pandemic. Every single person has a social responsibility and a role to play in this fight. Staying home and keeping social distance is the only way to contain the spread of the virus.
Many of my international shows were cancelled. Even though museums are creating virtual exhibitions and activities, it is very disappointing to know that due to COVID-19 pandemic, many artists have found themselves without work and the art community is facing a lot of uncertainty. Most artists and freelancers from the creative sectors live pay check to pay check and do not have a cushion to buffer them against unexpected events like this. I think we need state support like in Germany where artists and studios were granted 5,000-15,000 euro as aid during these times. Singapore also announced an aid package for freelancers. A country like India, with a rich arts and culture heritage, needs to develop a strong system that can support the creative economy during times of crisis.