Art borrows from life to trigger empowerment
Ruchika Kawlra Motwani’s stimulating visual imagery is transformative
The year of 2020 has witnessed an unchartered phenomenon. Many raged at the futility of their past endeavours and remained questioning the newness of the circumstances. And others embraced the journey with quietude, and contributions that are notable and exemplary.
Of the more creative right-brained individuals, Visual artist Ruchika Kawlra Motwani used this time to focus on the social incoherence within diverse communities. The violence and agony that is part of this trail of tears, the sudden explosion and the dynamics of many people trying to live together in a small geographical area yet socially distanced from one another are the thrust of her recent canvases. Boundaries and boundlessness are seen across many of her artworks.
Ruchika has worked as a visual artist for over 30 years – creating a successful career spanning an extensive canvas of experiential work in the creative fields of Graphic Design, Fine Art and Publishing. Ruchika was entrusted with designing Mind Coach Radhika Kawlra Singh’s first book, ‘It’s Easy To Be YOU’ from cover to cover. The book is meant to enable each human to harmonise thoughts judiciously and imbibe the message in their daily lives. The author uses a technique that serves a dual purpose: it slowly expands on the power of the subconscious mind and it explains the purpose of the metaphysical reality of form and formlessness. The design challenge was to create a meditative space while utilizing graphic cues to assimilate fully the written word.
When people were only grappling with the thought of ‘Covid 19’, Radhika foresaw the challenges and simultaneously penned two books, to ease other’s lives forward. According to Ruchika, her sister is the “most captivating new age guru”. Designing the covers required more than simple visual imagery. She utilized the visual language of abstraction, to depict uncertainty and the mood of the current scenario on the cover of ‘You will be okay: Embracing Social Distancing’. Concentric rings represent the quality of courageousness and bold heart required to get well past this dark time. The book enables each individual to develop a new resource that validates their spirit of self-inquiry. It encourages you to fully accept your diverse feeling states and offers you tools to build resilience.
For designing ‘You: Beyond Isolation’ Ruchika was inspired by her time of living in isolation and in proximity with nature. The cover with the red human figure stands apart from the backdrop of the world at large. The deep red colour represents the base chakra colour that makes the foundation of each individual even stronger. Ruchika believes that any artistic expression will subconsciously borrow from your own essence, and synergise it into your work. The book triggers you to make a thorough observation of the uniform advancement in nature and inspires you to resolve your inadequacies in achieving extraordinary things. Ruchika believes while she needed to create a representation of the formula being offered by the author on the cover of the book, the imagery was born from the strength she felt she imbibed from living within a community of close friends, and her own family. An expression in the subjective state of reality must rely upon your own strengths and weaknesses as an individual.
Both women are passionate about their work. Their bold strokes speak powerful narratives. Their work demonstrates a sincere synergy that comes from being the biggest fans of each-others creativity. “I have immense respect for the depth of knowledge Radhika has-the purity of her intent in loving humanity is unique. She finds the good, even in a vile act of mankind. It is as if she is wearing an unseen filter that guides every perception to meet the higher norm”
Books that make each person the protagonist of the narrative can only be written by someone who sees their own learnings as equal to the unknown truth within each person. Radhika has worked on diverse psychosomatic disorders, from top Olympians on their mental training to children on diverse issues. She believes in the strength of the spirit fully. Her work drives the idea that knowing yourself better brings forth effective solutions.
While Radhika sees this process of the books as a coming together of a synergy that was determined at birth, Ruchika identifies “critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication as the 4 driving forces of success. Ruchika continues to work on an abstract art portfolio for an exhibition based on her experience of the Pandemic. Radhika is currently working with people to guide them through their difficult times and is penning down her next book on self-inquiry.
