91.44cm X 137.16cm, Oil paint, texture white, resin spray paint
I met this carnival dancer on a visit to Singapore, she was performing in the hotel where I stayed. Her vivacious Brazilian personality and her pure joy in performing captivated me. Although I did take her contact number, I was unfortunately unable to connect with her to show her this painting after it was completed.
The dancer is shown as childlike in this work, though she is actually a grown woman. I painted her like this because her joy was so childlike. Her spontaneous movements connected with her audience and energised them.
Even her costume was a piece of art and had been created especially for her. Rhinestones glittered like small flashes of fireworks as she moved. There is actually movement in every aspect of this painting. Every feather in every part of her costume moved differently as she danced. I used textured lines to convey the feeling of movement, some of these lines are done in transparent resin. The dancer’s legs moved very fast, so that is why l showed her with more than two legs.
Please notice the dancer’s sharp red nails. l usually paint such nails when l want to convey woman power. These nails are inspired by the traditional South Indian way of painting goddesses. They can also be seen in my paintings, “The Wheel of Life” and “Kali”.
In this painting I tried to convey dancer’s entire personality as an artist and performer. Just like I tried to use each and every skill I learned as a painter to execute this work. It was a bonding of two creative spirits.
My mother, who is a tapestry weaver, really liked this painting. She made a beautiful tapestry based on it that is just the same size as the original. It is included here.