The Puppets by Anuradha Kabra is her new series of paintings which she created during the lockdown period of COVID-19. Originally from Jodhpur, India, Anuradha Kabra has made Singapore her home since the past decade. Her informal education in art and music started from a very young age from her mother (Kamla Kabra) and father (Brijbhushan Kabra), both well – known artists. Her love for the vibrancy of Van Gogh’s work & the precision of M C Escher led to her evolving her own unique style of blending pencil with vibrant water colors, acrylics and chalk pastels on paper. She also works with Acrylics and Oils on canvas. Her curiosity and deep interest in mythology, mysticism, history & nature is reflected in her artistic pursuits. Her work is an expression of what is around her involving the mysteries of different cultures, human values & emotions and she depict these through different styles & colors using water color & acrylics as her medium.
The Puppet series of her depicts the helplessness, the lack of direction, hope, misery all around made her wonder about us humans. We have become so full of ourselves and in so many ways tried to manipulate nature and everything we have laid our hands on, sometimes to learn but many a times misused for our own greed and comfort. We have been living in this belief that we are the only planet with living species and we will one day conquer death and become immortal. But, with COVID, it has dawned on many or most of us how we are mere puppets in the hands of the supreme entity – call him God, Ishwar, Divine Soul…not only us, but the higher beings be it Krishan, Shiva, Jesus…they are all puppets in the hands of the Universal Consciousness. Thus, these paintings justifies her impressions of thoughts.
She has successfully exhibited in group and solo shows in Singapore and India & was the exhibiting artist at the Indonesian Economic Forum in Jakarta in 2016. She has been hosted to exhibit her work in India by Kalakriti Art Gallery, India. Her work has been successfully exhibited in the Affordable Art Fair in Singapore in 2017 and 2018 besides many other art shows.
