My art is primarily based around the ideas of “communities” and how they influence our social and political standing.

 

Previous subject matters I have covered have been the Indian community in Southall, the Notting Hill Carnival community and most recently documenting the youth culture or attitude of “chilling out” in arcades, fair grounds, shopping centres, etc.

 

The weight of “teenagers” is quite synonymous in the media these days with adverse effects on their identity and respectability. My approach is simply to show people in everyday situations without anyone being judged purely on society’s perception.

 

My work is strongly influenced by urban/street art and training as an Illustrator has enabled me to value the importance of making my work accessible to the subjects of my art.

 

I look at modern graffiti, graphics and design work and how these styles can be translated and manipulated to fit my brief. I look at many artists past and presents but the most influential in my art would have to be Basquait and Schnabel.

 

I use first hand research documenting certain scenarios or simply observing the environment around me. These are then translated onto canvas with the ideas of narrative and formality. When I begin a project I immerse myself in the location. I try to soak up the atmosphere of the place by taking photographs, do observational drawings and taking notes.

 

I reflect on the visual information I have gathered which enables me to experiment with different formal methods and approaches, (composition, colours, mark making), to explore the narrative potential of my research.

 

One of the main challenges for me is to discover the most appropriate technique, method of producing images that best express ideas that I have about the environment and the inhabitants of it. I’m currently exploring the language between painting and drawing and how the two disciplines can sit with one another.

 

I’ve always lived in the hub of London where eccentricity meets the down-right scary. This is not something that is generally considered to apply to the Indian communities dotted around London who value loyalty, families and hard work over individual interests.  

 

I am very interested in those colourful characters that stand out and go against the grain of the “submissive Asian” disregarding their peers and prejudices. Miss Shinata Sangha the first Indian transvestite who is a regular feature at Madame Jojo’s in Central London or the crazed Sikh football fans, who would gladly sacrifice quality time at home to support their team and the growing number of young Indian girls who enjoy working in the porn industry.

 

My objectives are to visit and get to know the vibrant Bangladeshi community who have settled and grown to be part of London’s most creative areas in East London. Also to encapsulate how the Muslim community live with the real Eastenders and the community of the City.

 

I hope to repeat this procedure with the Sikh community in West London and hopefully expand to other Indian communities around the U.K.

 

I would like to take the opportunity to explore the lives of people from the Indian Sub-continent and reveal through my art the various ways in which they struggle to reconcile their cultural backgrounds and traditions with a “British” way of living.

Shema Ladva © 2000-2009: All artwork and other images on this website are the exclusive property of Shema Ladva and are protected under copyright law. You must request and receive written permission from Shema Ladva, the sole copyright owner, to use any of these pieces of art and / or images in whole or in part.

 

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