Songs from the Blood

For the first time since artist Rekha Rodwittiya’s paintings titled Songs from the Blood of the Weary became part of the late art patron Jehangir Nicholson’s collection in 1996, they are on display. The aficionado came upon the 12 paintings, each around 10 feet high, and "decided overnight that he wanted (them) to be part of his collection,” noted Kamini Sawhney, curator of the Jehangir Nicholson Art Foundation (JNAF). The canvases in varying shades of red, yellow and ochre represent women "without objectifying them. Her larger than life figures of women going about their daily tasks dominating their surroundings and the objects around them is a celebration of the female protagonist,” notes a write-up from the JNAF. Earlier the dozen works of art were part of an exhibition commemorating the 50th anniversary of the United Nations at Geneva.

Rekha Rodwittiya’s paintings on display at the Jehangir Nicholson Gallery: "message of peace"

"The installation… pose(d) a challenge to display in a gallery space. But we felt that it was an important work of art with a message of peace that resonates in today’s world. The collector (Nicholson) believed strongly enough in the work to invest in an installation that was a stretch both in terms of space and budget and this is perhaps a good time to share it with the public,” stated Sawhney.
The paintings are on display from April 19 to August 19, 2018 at the Jehangir Nicholson Gallery located in the Prince of Wales Museum of Western India (now known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya).