Committed to PEOPLE'S RIGHT TO KNOW
Vol. 5 Num 269 Mon. February 28, 2005  
   
Culture


Exhibition
Quaint, cute and cuddly images in batik
Idylls from Russia


Liudmila Yakovleva's recent exhibition at the Russian Culture Centre brought quaint motifs in batik. Fairies, cats, houses with sloping roofs and pale blue skies were all included in the artist's subject range. All the forms and motifs were neat, precise and done in soft, muted colours. The images formed careful designs on cloth, whether it be a domestic scene of a cat on a veranda or Egyptian images on pharaohs' tombs.

Liudmila studied art as a child and went on to graduate from the Department of Applied Arts of the Moscow Textile University. Her parents realised that she was artistically gifted and let her study her own way. Her favourite artists included Renaissance painter Michelangelo and modern cubists like Picasso. Since 1994 she is a member of the "Union of Designers", Russia. She has taken part in local and international exhibitions.

One of the batik works had a quaint old lady in blue, clutching on to a red umbrella and being blown by the wind. She was surrounded by gray, blue and brown trees with pink and golden leaves. Another image presented a beige mother cat suckling her snow white kittens. One of its eyes was opened while the other was shut; it was resting on a blue background. A presentation of Riga, the capital of Latvia, brought in pink, brown and purple houses and churches, with steeples, turrets and sloping roofs. They were lined with trees dotted with snow. Glowing roadside antique lamps in wrought iron added to the genial atmosphere. People were seen playing in the winter snow. "A winter angel" brought in a thin greenish form with blonde hair. Behind the floating form were snow laden trees. The water in front had floating flowers and fluffy snow.

The image of the seated old man, with a cat in front of him and snow behind him was also very quaint. At the back were to be seen bare branches of hedges. Another idyllic composition brought in the city with yellow, orange, blue and pink houses with gold and blue roofs, and pink walls and windows. On top was a flying angel with red tresses, with white and gold wings and apparel. In 'The flying couple" we saw a man and woman flying in ecstasy in the sky. The woman was dressed in orange and her companion in green. Below are orange and gray circular tops of trees.

"Trip to Egypt" brought in the old and new in the sense that new scenes of subjects going about their work were seen against the backdrop of pharaoh's palaces and tombs. The palaces with their carvings, pillars and statues blended with everyday people going about their work. There was the depiction of a contemporary woman clad in white robes and scarves, walking to her destination. On one side was an enlarged depiction of an ancient Egyptian carving with lilies. Another scene contained three women with their faces in scarves. Behind them were tall pillars and huge, historical statues.

Having visited Bangladesh, Liudmila hopes to bring in some of the Bangladeshi scenes and images in her future work.

Picture
Liudmila's work displays neat forms and motifs