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Artist Sunanda Docherty celebrates the beauty and strength of women in Bahrain in her first solo exhibition entitled ‘Power through Expression’.
Having featured her artwork in the UK and Scotland, the British painter from Amwaj Islands was thrilled to showcase her creative collection in Bahrain where she originally conceived all her ideas.
The array of watercolour and oil paintings hanging on the walls of the InTouch Integrated Chiropractic Spine Centre in Janabiya sheds a different light on Bahraini women and their fashion-sense, namely the abaya.
Sunanda said: “People associate the abaya as black and expressionless, especially in the West, but that isn’t what I see around me. I wanted to highlight the individualism of the women in Bahrain combined with the environment around us.
“I think the women here are beautiful and such an inspiration no matter what the background. Beauty can be seen in everything, you just need to look. The reason why I called this exhibition ‘Power through Expression’ is because I believe we all show who we are through what we do, wear and look. And, I wanted to show that power through the women I have met and observed during my stay here in Bahrain.”
Sunanda’s first painting for this collection called ‘Walking’ was inspired by a jogger in the Lagoon running in full abaya. The way the fabric flowed behind the jogger evoked quite an impression on the artist which spiralled into a collection of paintings. She also features seven oil paintings derived from her fondness for pearls.
She said: “Having read about the rich culture of the Bahraini pearl, I couldn’t resist! These portraits have been given beautiful Arabic names; they are stylised and have a fantasy element to them. There is also a small range of ink and watercolour fashion type paintings that reflect the colours of Bahrain, including the F1.”
Sunanda rekindled her love for art when she moved to the kingdom with her husband, Paul, who works as a brand designer. She said: “I saw this as the perfect opportunity to re-evaluate what I wanted to do and to basically start again. Honestly, Bahrain has been my inspiration. So much diversity can be found within this rich and beautiful island, from the colours of the sea to the stark architectural buildings.”
Before picking up a pad and pencil, Sunanda focused her energy on fashion. She had graduated in Bachelors of Arts with honours degree at Edinburgh College of Art and with a Master’s in Fashion Design at Central St Martins School of Art, London.
She has worked in London and Scotland as a senior designer in outerwear for River Island and other retailers including M&S and Pineapple. Sunanda also lectured in Fashion and Printed Textiles at DJCA University of Dundee for 10 years.
After that she worked as a freelance designer and artist. She said: “I wanted to get back to art after so long in the fashion business. It removes the creativity of just having a pencil in your hands rather than fabric or pins! However, I did love working with fabric. I enjoyed my time lecturing and teaching my students how to model a toile on a dummy but at the same time I knew I wanted to hone my drawing again.”
Sunanda is already working on her next series, starting with portraits evoking the beauty of colour and of course strong, beautiful women.
Her current exhibition, organised by Stafford & Sharabi and InTouch Gallery, is open to art lovers until the end of this month.
For details, contact 17690100 or 38872057 or email info@intouchclinic.com
