A woman with wild, azure blue hair, leans over a man, her long dreadlocks caressing his face. Their eyes closed in a moment of passion and intimacy, a subtle subversion. A contrast of
light and dark. Of shadows and faces. The woman is on top, hovering above the man as she asserts herself and claims her space.
The tone of the painting may be muted and reserved but the carefully chosen palette of cool, blue and gray undertones reveal the artist’s precision in thought and attention to detail. The brushstrokes are bold, striking and intense. There is something absolutely enthralling about Shehi Shafi’s paintings, yet there is a lurid flavour to them. It’s as if the artist wants us to be confronted by her art.
“I am often amused by the responses I get on my work,” says Shehi Shafi with a laugh. “But I do believe that art must be left to the audience to interpret however they want.”
Dressed in an olive green t-shirt with her hair rolled up in a bun, Shehi is a vision of cosiness and comfort. I start talking to her and we are immediately in sync.
“People have asked me who I painted in this piece - is it my partner, lover or my fantasy, and they seem to have reached all sorts of bizarre conclusions. Someone even sent Malayalam verses on the painting, and that made me really happy. The fact that I made something that inspired another.”
Dubai-Cochin based artist Shehi Shafi, never knew she would be an artist. She had never sketched, apart from science diagrams in school to score marks. So, how did someone who had never picked up a brush before in her life, become a celebrated Instagram artist, feature on Outlook magazine, and win the 2019 Speakout Achievers Awards?
Shehi says she discovered art by accident, much later in her life. Having gotten married during her graduation, Shehi was hurled into a busy life with travel and family. She played with art only when her kids were growing up, when she would buy them crayons, pencils and watercolours. One day, her older daughter was scribbling a silly artwork when Shehi thought it would be nice to add in a stroke here and just shade a little there. “Like most mothers, I was just messing with my kids’ work,” she says with a giggle.
Through her kids’ art tutor she came to know about paint tubes. “Painting felt like a huge commitment then and hence I was hesitant. That’s when he mentioned oil colours which was a slow drying medium. I am curious in general to try out something new. So I thought about giving it a shot."
“'Were you a child prodigy? is something I often get asked. I didn't have a single clue about any artistic medium. I didn’t even know what paint felt like, or how to wield a brush then. But I just trusted my instincts."
Unlike today, where you can easily get 'Oil Painting Starter Kit' online, there were no so-called kits available then. So when Shehi cluelessly went to the stationery store in the beginning, it was a kind salesman that helped her pick art supplies and thus she compiled her own ‘starter kit’.
The first ever painting she made was a still life of two luscious pears. The feeling of creating something was exhilarating, and there was no looking back after that for Shehi.
Her fascination for painting isn’t just for the visual or aesthetic pleasure. For all the electrifying effect she has on others, I wondered what inspires Shehi to conjure such alluring depictions on canvas. Is it the mere bliss of creation? For instance, what exactly was running in her mind when she created the blue haired enchantress? Was it a spontaneous overflow of emotions? Or a carefully strategized blueprint of her fancy?
“Well, it's not always from paintings or photographs I get my inspirations" ruminates Shehi. “Rather, it comes from the conversations and stories I consume that I draw my muses from. I try to capture the raw emotions, and then I try to translate them in colors onto my canvas. It can be anything.” More than an artwork of an artist or their peculiar artistic style, it's their journey that inspires her.
As a curious reader and a history buff since childhood, Shehi spends a lot of time learning about artists. Before she sets foot into something, it’s important for her to read and study its history. Knowing the history helps her focus and attain better insight into the chosen matter.
Being busy with family and traveling, it was not easy to get a formal education in art from home. Hence she turned to several, short, snippet-sized online courses to compensate for her lack of foundation in art.
While these courses had nothing to do with practical drawing or painting techniques, it helped her gain perspective and develop a better sense of the artistic world. “Through these courses, I met many wonderful artists. Not just Van Gogh and Picasso, but I learnt about Georges Braque, Piet Mondrian, Claude Monet, Henry Matisse and many more. I knew about different painting styles and their techniques; how it varied depending on the social and economic classes of the artists.”
After learning Art History and the diverse evolution of art, from Renaissance to Modern art, paintings became more than pretty patterns and vibrant colours on a canvas. “When I see a painting, I know I'm peeking into the artist's life. Their patience in creating such paintings, their resilience and hard work captured on a canvas, immortalised forever.”
She savours the painting process, the knife strokes and the texture. She says "Relationship with oil takes time. There is a warmth when it allows you to come back.”
The books she read and the feelings that come across from interesting conversations incite her to make magic with her hands. “When I am done with a painting I feel like I have completed a book, that's the kind of overwhelming feeling I have.” Painting and reading go hand in hand for Shehi.
Artivist Shehi Shafi holding the January 2019 edition of the Outlook magazine that featured her artwork ‘I Bleed to Create Life.
She was reading a sensual romance novel when she painted ‘Be Mine.’ Similarly, while reading about the controversial Sabarimala issue in Kerala and the notions of purity around menstruating women, she painted her celebrated piece ‘I Bleed To Create Life.’
“My intention wasn't to rupture any religious sentiments or preach about it. I clearly wanted to point out the science behind it. Why do I bleed? Well, to create life. There shouldn’t be any stigma or taboo about such a natural process.” The call from Outlook magazine did take her by surprise but she is glad that her artwork and the cause reached many more people.
The painting, which was initially posted on her Instagram page, depicts a raging belle, draped in a rich gown luminating a furious shade of blood and striking a graceful pose.
For her passionate engagement in social and political issues, Shehi was recognized as an Outlook Speakout Achiever in 2019 and accepted the award from Smriti Irani, the Union Minister of Women and Child Development. In her acceptance speech, Shehi explains how menstruation is the only blood that doesn't contain negativity or violence. It contains only life. It isn't to be glorified nor vilified.
When I asked if this was her biggest accomplishment, Shehi neither affirms nor negates. “While getting validation is truly important for any artist, my biggest accomplishment is something a little more personal. I feel like after years of pondering, I have found myself. I have a better clarity in what I stand for and what I want from life.”
Reading and internet resources helped her to discover herself and to recognise the oppressing system that alienated Shehi throughout her life. “Growing up and even after marriage, I had to go through a lot of difficulties. I wasn't even aware of terms like trauma or systems like patriarchy and had to find other means to cope with my mental conflicts and internal angst. I had a lot of self doubt and I was always seeking acceptance.”
To a greater extent, it was political enlightenment that empowered her - both in her personal quest and in her art repertoire . “Capitalistic systems exploit everyone and everything and will always pamper contradictory ideologies - be it religions and atheism, feminism and misogyny. It perpetuates a never ending vicious cycle.”
“Yes, I am a woman, an artist, a feminist, but I place myself as a socialist. And if asked why, I'd only ask why aren't you a socialist? As long as the repressive system prevails, injustice and inequality will exist too. To understand the exploitations you need to critically think. Hence I’m not just a feminist but a socialist.'” According to Shehi, everyone needs to be a socialist since that’s the only way out. Socialism aims to end all discriminations and has contentment as its end goal as opposed to temporary happiness.
In today’s age and time there are plenty of resources at fingertips, to not only craft and hone one's skills but also to gain a better understanding of life and the world around us. When artists can and have the ability to wield a brush, they should use it for agency.
For someone deeply vested in learning and reading, she wanted to go back to academics. And it is with this desire in mind that Shehi signed up for online college education recently. “I have no clue about what the next three years have in store for me but let's see where this takes me.”
With a twinkle in her eye and a restless passion for her causes, Shehi effortlessly weaves art, history and politics in her life and into her works. From having little knowledge on art to using it as an effective instrument to highlight social causes, Shehi Shafi has walked quite a journey, donning different roles - from a young perplexed girl to an outspoken artivist. Going forward, Shehi has little regrets and only hopes that she will be able to conquer larger canvases and more social issues through her work.
LOVE IT!!