Artist and true-blue Delhiite Bina Ramani spoke to Kritika Dua about her penchant for the bovine and her unique creative process

Socialite turned artist Bina Ramani has found inspiration and solace in bovine innocence and empathy. She recently put together a series of artworks on India’s most revered animal —a collage of cows in a monochromatic tone along with a dash of green in a illusionary frame; canvas of a cow shying from the shutterbug, its shadow falling on the ground with clever use of photoshop effects; a white sturdy bull standing amidst an ocean; a cow and a calf caught in a moment beside a cracked wall and a cow simply having a quiet moment near a riverside titled Meditative.

Her relationship with the bovine began long back, when she bowed out of the Delhi circuit following the Jessica Lal shooting at her restro-bar Tamarind Court and a series of investigative probes occured in a case of alleged forgery which she was later discharged from. Seeking solace, she found joy in the simplest things of life. “I moved to Goa around 18-19 years ago and within 3-4 years, cows seized my attention . There are so many of them wandering on the streets, my home is in a village so there were always cows wandering in the vicinity. My husband, George Mailhot, is an artist, he came home one day with an unusual picture of a cow he had seen along the way. I couldn’t believe that it was the face of a cow because of the odd black spots on its face, it looked more like an African pendant on the first glance and I used to wear a lot of African Jewellery at that time. Then, he said to me, ‘take a proper look this is a cow’s face’ which looked like a painting to me. After that incidence, I began to take notice of this creature — small, big, male, female — something which I never used to do before.”

It wove a bond between the two, she began clicking pictures of cows which appealed to her and hasn’t stopped. “Everyone should witness their wonderous beauty, some of them have incredible horns, they have characteristics that can speak volumes through powerful horns and I also came to realise the presence of language in the animal world and mothers having a protective feeling for the calves. I often encourage them to come to my neighbourhood and took the first lot of pictures near my house where I spotted a cow, on a white wall where someone had drawn a bird and the cow was standing right below that drawing and it appeared to me as if the cow was carrying the bird. It was a pure piece of art and a miracle that I witnessed that scene which spoke to me and thus cows gave form to a new vocabulary in my heart. My eyes began to see the world differently after that.”

She terms it the beginning of her love affair with cows and now has a vast collection of pictures which has the bovine creature in a variety of moods, shapes, sizes, and colours. She took the pictures while extensively travelling across the country and Bali. “One wouldn’t see cows in European and American countries until they visit a farmland. Bali is the only region, I think, which has traces of Hindu culture apart from India. And they have similar sentiments about worshipping cows. Maybe that’s why one can witness them wandering in the fields and it is a rare sight that can’t be experienced in any other part of the world,” said Ramani.

Birds also interest her, especially their sounds, something which she can’t resist noticing. Her house in Goa is called Birdsong; which was named before she discovered the cows. “The courtyard of my Delhi house is filled with birds of all kinds and I always have my Ipad and camera handy to capture the moment. I have several bird pictures as well. Some of them I have used in this exhibition, incorporating them with cows where they fit in but as birds were not the focal point, I couldn’t use many.” Their house has become a breeding ground for sparrows. She informed us that her husband has a fair knowledge of biodiversity and birds being its subpart, he makes sure that he educates her about the unique features of various species of birds so that it becomes easier for her to spot them in case they visit her house. It helped her to be familiar with bird nesting and also that birds eat other birds.

The artist has used photoshop tools on selected pictures to enhance its effects, one of which was done during a long flight around seven years ago. She confessed on not being really fluent with technology and is a slow learner but some of the editing apps make her task hassle-free. Few of Ramani’s works have digitally printed cows, standing out on a background painted by her, using both acrylic and oil paints. Said she, “It’s a fascinating affair and I really enjoy experimenting with various filters, shades and tones in order to achieve the desired result. In some of the frames, she captured the creature in busy ugly streets and in those cases, cutouts of the animal were used in her artworks.” We believe that intuition is the best guide which paved a way for her mixed-media art. She clicked some pictures at the south most tip of India, Kovalam, where a cow is resting her head near a pole during sunset and was captured in various moods. “I emotionally connect to cows and they also feel the same, perhaps, as when I am out with friends or my husband, they come in herds at times and stand close to me while I caress them.” Overtime she has formed a mode of non-verbal communication with cows.

She gave us a peek into the creative process while collaborating with Mailhot for some of the artworks. “The creative journey with my husband began when we were dating around 24-years-ago, he is an artist in his heart and soul. Even though he was a Bureaucrat, he was inclined towards art from quite a young age. He has an in-house studio, having various kinds of colours, big and small canvases, paintbrushes, craftspaper and lastly background music to set the tone. Whenever anyone pays a visit, he encourages them to paint, they are hesitant at first but he convinces them somehow. Interestingly, he has put together those pieces with each of the person’s name and date for memory’s sake. I was also reluctant to paint for the longest time then he asked me to start with a cross which later turned to experimenting with geometric shapes — triangle, circle and square. Circle is an embodiment of soul, square represents home and triangle represents material world. After which I couldn’t stop myself. Along the way, he sat with me, adviced me on techniques and intricate nuances of the craft. He is a really supportive teacher who encourages me constantly and lets be breathe through my art. He never pushed an idea on me and allows me the space to be free in my creative vision. I wouldn’t have been able to pull this off with confidence if it was not for his perseverance.” She recalled interesting anecdotes of a six-day trip to Jhalawar, Rajasthan where during evening hours he would encourage the people accompanying them to paint inspired by the scenic beauty or fascinating moments during the day as he took on the train-journey a bag full of art supplies. Mailhot takes art along wherever he goes.

They didn’t actually collaborate by sitting at one place and working on a certain piece. Ramani was going through some of his works and selected few of the pieces according to her sensibilities after which she pasted the cow cutouts in artworks that suited it. “I thought it would be a combined representation and make for a nice synergy.”

She also spoke to us about her autobiography, Bird in a Banyan Tree and how it was misconstrued by the media. “They all sensationalised one part of it which was about my supposed affair with actor Shammi Kapoor. It was not an affair but an arrangement, he fell in love with an innocent Indian girl from London who was contemporary in her thought process. I had not seen any of his movies. He saw an innocence in me, admired me for it, later fell in love and wanted to marry me. Being with him felt like a beautiful dream. My family didn’t approve of it and set me off onto an arranged marriage. His sister-in-law was my friend and like an immediate family. It’s sad that people judged me based on misinterpretation of facts. I am a pure person and it doesn’t bother me now as my closed ones know me well. The book had more substance than what it was sensationalised into.”

The influences of Mailhot’s work range from Chinese art traditions to the spiritual mandala. All this and much more was on display at the recently concluded untitled joint art exhibition by Ramani and Mailhot at Art Konsult gallery in Hauz Khas. The artist paid veneration to cows with myraid of backdrops which are not limited to rural landscapes. The walls were adorned with around 60 artworks — Ramani’s photographs of the bovine polished through mixed media.