THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The blue flower in the frames is elusive. You try with all your might, coax it, cajole it, fight for it and strive intensely, yet it remains out of your reach. That blue flower is your desire. We all fight for our dreams. And only sometimes do we get what we want. Babitha Rajiv’s frames are all about our own desires and the search for the elusive blue flower.
“When I was planning the art series, I thought of using the blue flower to symbolise the desire that we all have. I have tried to weave art around human desire and our thirst to realise it,” says Babitha, a native of Fort Kochi who is holding her solo art exhibition christened ‘The Quest for Blue Flower’ at the Vyloppilli Samskrithi Bhavan in the capital.
A self-taught artist, Babitha says that art was always her constant companion. “Art was always with me, from childhood. But I never learnt it professionally. That made the journey challenging, especially when I was trying to establish myself as the artistic milieu mostly comprises trained people,” she says.
Babitha has been pursuing art for the past 10 years by holding exhibitions and experimenting constantly. “I was always into drawings. I realised my paintings were surreal only when people started pointing it out to me,” she says.
Zebra, clown and frog remain her favourite images and these are the reigning elements in the exhibition. Babitha says the most interesting part of art is how the audience draws their inference from it. “There were many who came here and tried to link politics in these artworks. I tell them I didn’t mean any of those but if you get that impression, please feel free to infer that,” she smiles.
While one artwork has a clown trying with all his might to capture the blue flower, another has two lovers attempting to attain each other’s hearts. “We will go to any lengths to realise our desires. For some, everything comes easily. In my case, I have to try a lot. And just when I make up my mind to stop my pursuit, it presents itself,” says Babitha.
For Babitha, art is her constant companion. She dreams of creating art and travelling the world. “I don’t know if it will materialise, like this blue flower. If I can take my art to the world, then I would be the happiest,” says Babitha.
The exhibition is on till March 1.