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| Caroline
Jariwala |
Caroline
Jariwala has been working as an artist since the 1980’s. Her
work has been exhibited widely in high profile exhibitions throughout
the UK in solo and group shows. Born in the UK Caroline is of Gujarati
Hindu descent.
Her
spiritual beliefs are now set in Christianity. Her paintings explore
very different cultures; that of her Gurjarati heritage and her
experiences of being born and brought up in Britain.
Exploring
my faith …
"When
I first started painting a lot of my work was about my Indian heritage
and Gurjarati background. I began to explore aspects of my own spirituality
after visiting my family in India in 1986. The trip had a profound
impact on me both emotionally and artistically," - explains
Caroline.
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| Diwali
- By Caroline Jariwala |
"I
explored Hindu themes using sculpture, photography and painting,
focusing on everyday rituals customs and festivals. I painted about
women cooking, dancing and sharing a moment together."
"Gradually
my work became more about spirituality. Being brought up as a nominal
Hindu then becoming a Christian, I began to look at the link between
Christianity and the Hindu faith, finding commonalties between the
two."
Capturing
moments of spirituality…
The
focus on women is an inspiration throughout Caroline’s work.
Her paintings celebrate her upbringing and the closeness of relationships
between women.
Patterns
and textiles used in many of the paintings are the same used in
traditional Hindu dress, denoting Caroline’s family background.
The inspirational use of colours have symbolic meaning in both Christianity
and Hindu art and culture.
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The
Caroline Jariwala Collection
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View
a small selection of Caroline's work.
 Gallery
One
Gallery Two
(Actual
size of paintings vary around 40" x 40" )
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"How
women communicate, pray and interact with each other inspires a
lot of my artwork. It is a means of celebrating womanhood.
My
paintings, capture moments of spirituality in action: women working,
cooking, dancing or praying – rituals and practices that cross
boundaries of culture and religion."
"Colours
are used inspirationally in my work. I like to play with colours
and the effect that they have. Colours also play an important spiritual
part in religious art.
"In
my latest work I have created seven large paintings each using a
colour of the rainbow corresponding to its Chakra symbol, for example,
the symbol governing the solar plexus or Manipura Chakra is yellow,
the Ajna Chakra is indigo and so on.
"Red
is used in the Hindu religion as a colour of prosperity. Wedding
Saris always tend to be red. Purple is seen as a highly spiritually
colour both in Christianity and Hindu art."
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Chakra paintings
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View five of Caroline's Chakra paintings and read her fascinating
insight into the inspiration behind them.
Chakra
paintings
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Working
in the community…
Since
qualifying as a teacher in 1990, Caroline has led art projects in
schools, galleries and community venues across the country.
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| Caroline
working at Artsfest 2003 in Birmingham |
Projects
include mural painting, mosaics and textiles. She enjoys combined
arts projects collaborating with story-tellers, musicians and tile
makers. Themes include art history, self-portraiture and cultural
identity.
"Working
in schools is an important aspect of my work as an artist. I get
a great buzz from doing lots of workshops in schools and community
venues. As a visiting artist children treat you differently. You
are able to encourage and challenge the pupils in a new and dynamic
way."
"I’m
there to bring out the best in them. There’s no such thing
as a bad or a good artist. I enthuse them as much as I can, giving
them some empowerment so that they become a little bit more confident
in who they are. The work that I do with groups can be seen as therapeutic"
I love all different types of art…
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| Saris
- By Caroline Jariwala |
From
the early stages of her art career Caroline has always had an interest
in the early Italian Renaissance and Byzantine art, with its use
of colour, composition and allegorical representations.
"I
really warm to artists that have a depth in their work. There are
a lot of artists that I love and can get a lot out of, from contemporary
artists to traditional historic art as well as folk art. Frida Kahlo
was a real inspiration to me in my early art career, she painted
subjects that were painful to behold as well as standing firm within
Mexican culture.
"I
also look at Italian renaissance artist and Indian miniature artists.
Women who create art as part of their celebration of life also inspire
me, such as Paula Rego and Paula Modersohn Becker."
Growing
as an artist…
"The
place where I feel most at home is in my studio where I’m painting
and trying to find out more about myself. Learning from my paintings
helps me to grow as an artist."
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