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KENYA INSPIRES ME TO PAINT
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The Kenyan ambassador to Germany, Mr. Frost Josiah was greatly astonished by her work and suggested that Kenya also promote artists and craftsmen and not just the touristic attractions, as it is a country of many talents. He suggested that in the following years at the International Tourist Fair in Berlin they display the attractions of Kenya through art work. Again her art career took a new turn when the Kenya Tourist Board asked her to display paintings of wildlife at the Kenyan Stand, a subject she had never thought she could paint.
Whilst preparing for the exhibition, a most unusual thing happened in Samburu Game Reserve. A lioness had adopted a Beisa Oryx as its own family instead of preying on it. The Beisa Oryx was separated from the lioness as another lion preyed on it. Following this, the same lioness has tried to adopt Beisa Oryx calves three more times over the last few months. Avni wondered whether this bonding was a result of karmic occurrences over many lives: was it a childless mother's need to adopt a baby or a genetic defect. She has tried to depict this bonding in three of her paintings: Unusual Friends, Wonder of the World and Together We Can Survive. Unusual Friends was presented to the Mayor of Berlin, while the Wonder of the World to the Ambassador of Kenya.
Her wildlife paintings portray unique behavioural patterns which are similar to those in human nature. Her two paintings depicted the Wildebeest Migration and the confusion of zebras crossing a river, not knowing whether
death lies ahead by the Mud Bath
stampede from behind or the crocodile's teeth. She tried to capture the risk through her art, as the animals have to cross to get to greener pastures on the other side of the Mara River. Have we not all come across such difficult paths where many options and confusion lie ahead and making the right decision is difficult? Especially one that would help liberate our soul?
Another painting, Mud Bath, is about a mother elephant and her baby dusting their bodies with mud and dust to protect their skin from sunburn and the insects. For them it seems that nature has its own way of providing protection from the sun. As humans we have been influenced to believe that animals haven't got the power to think. Yet they do think, they do have similar needs to us and we should protect them for the future generations.
Avni's art cannot be categorised as African or Jain style, as art is about portraying whatever the artist's innermost thoughts are about their subjects. In her case, the motivation is her country's natural heritage and wildlife, which is slowly being destroyed and becoming extinct.
She has thoroughly enjoyed painting the old streets of Lamu and Mombasa with their intricate details, carved doors, small alley ways. Many of the buildings she had painted years ago have disappeared as they have been pulled down for newer
At the water's edge developments. She feels that some of our Jain heritage, especially the temples, could also go through such destruction. It would be important to preserve this historic religion through photography, paintings and documentation.
Life has taken Avni on many diverse directions and into a career that she didn't know would be her future life-long passion. She started off with painting coastal scenes, moved on to dhows and then got the opportunity to start painting wildlife, which allows her to spend many days in the Game Parks and amongst nature. She has met the local tribes, the Masaais and Samburus who live the contented, simple life of nomads with very little possessions. They seem to live in a manner which is more like the Jain way and yet they have no knowledge of the existence of Jainism. She hopes one day she will be able to paint the slums of India, where life exists in minimalism and Jain values are practised unknowingly.
She hopes that what lies ahead in future will take her towards more new directions and one day she may also be able to live a more spiritual life. Mayuri Dodhia lives in Nairobi and organises unique wildlife tours in Kenya, ww
December 2002 - February 2003. Jain Spirit
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