KOCHI: Ever wondered how the F.R.I.E.N.D.S cast would look if they belonged to the fishermen community in Kerala? Or how Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali would have played Karuthamma and Pareekutty in the evergreen classic, Chemmen. Sherin Kadeeja T has a knack for cooking up crossovers of international and Kerala pop culture through her digital illustrations.
For this 31-year-old Kozhikode native, art has been a vital part of her life since she graduated from an architecture course. She dabbles with wall art, digital illustrations and hand-painted frames. Sherin also explores her creativity by travelling. “Ever since I found out the potential of visual vocabulary, there has been no turning back,” quips Sherin.
Exploring art parody
Sherin tries out new genres and styles to keep herself and her audience interested and her latest experiment is with ‘art parody’.“The concept of art parody has been around for some time now. I incorporate the Kerala context into mainstream art and media. My debut work in art parody featured a character from the book Pathummayude Aadu by Vaikom Muhammed Basheer against the 1665 painting ‘Girl with a Pearl Earring’ by Johannes Vermeer. The digital illustration garnered good response from many, and that drove me to work more on art parody,” says Sherin.
Soon, Bob Marley and John Lennon came out wearing mundu and conversed over a cup of hot steaming Sulaimani. More recently, Bruno Mars and Rihanna became a Gen X Malayalee couple. “The creation was inspired by my grandparents’ portrait. I’ve always felt Bruno Mars and his retro hairstyle was similar to the old-school Malayalee men. Rihanna is my all-time favourite, and became the face of my grandmother,” quips Sherin.
Sherin has also experimented with story illustrations where she portrays daily life events, personal experiences, or any subject that influences her. For Sherin, featuring her work on social media is a way to connect with more like-minded people. “Interacting with a group of people who shares similar interest and appreciates art is always a great experience for me. This brings you more ideas and perspectives,” says Sherin.
Sherin reflects her personality in most of her works, and it is far from minimalism. Bright, loud colours and vibrant stokes describe her frames, and she is always on the lookout for new ideas. “If you have an idea, do not wait for a perfect moment to create,” says Sherin.
STANDING TOGETHER
Sherin also uses her online community to help other aspiring artists. She even gave away her gadgets. “I gifted my last set of equipment to an architecture intern through a giveaway post. I received around 900 comments for the posts. From the lot, I picked one after doing some bit of a background check. I was convinced of his potential so I helped him get his hands on a gadget,” she says
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