Bidisha
Bidisha is informed by the ‘everyday aesthetics’ of urban life, the things we see but don’t notice. She thinks of her paintings in terms of a form of kinesis, that the elements might move and vibrate – barely fixed to the surface. Although very intensely pigmented, the colour language of the works she uses speaks to a tropical dusk or an equatorial palette: the colours are warm and baked, and naturally derived (ochre, mink, terracotta). The paintings may be abstract but they bring in the sun, speak the language of the Global South and dance to the tune of carnivals and street parties.
Bidisha says of her donation to #100NHSROOMS:“Art is nothing without someone to look at it. It’s nothing unless it interacts with the wider world: with real life, with society, with all the crossing-points of the everyday and all the emotions of the human experience and the buzz of urban life. I donated these three pieces because I wanted my work to be in communication with the real world – and joyful communication at that. All the pieces were produced under the exceptional circumstances of lockdown, separation, isolation and relative solitude. All my thwarted energy, all my restlessness, all my rage and pain and ambition and yearning came out in these artworks. I wanted to take all my stalled momentum and convert it into something beautiful and energising. I love the idea that something I’ve created from nothing might prompt a smile or a double take or a burst of energy in a stranger – particularly in a setting which is often associated with worry and illness. I wanted to connect with the side of the hospital environment that is all about healing, treatment, improvement, comfort, hard work and community spirit. I’m offering these three pieces, simply to be enjoyed and to give energy.”
Bidisha, Celebration, 2021, Acrylic on Paper. All rights with the artist
Bidisha, Lockdown 1 and 2, 2021, Coloured pencil and ink on graph paper
Bidisha is a broadcaster, journalist and film maker. She writes for the main UK broadsheets (currently as arts critic and columnist for The Observer and The Guardian) and presents and commentates heavily for BBC TV and radio, ITN, CNN, ViacomCBS and Sky News, where she has been a regular on the weekend breakfast show since 2016. Bidisha specialises in international human rights, social justice and culture and the arts and offers political analysis, arts critique and cultural diplomacy tying these interests together. Her fifth book, Asylum and Exile: Hidden Voices of London (2015), is based on her outreach work in UK prisons, refugee charities and detention centres. Her first short film, An Impossible Poison, premiered in Berlin in November 2017 and received its London premier in March 2018. It has been highly acclaimed and selected for numerous international film festivals. Her latest publication is an essay called The Future of Serious Art (Nov 2020) and her latest film series, Aurora, launched in 2020 and is ongoing. She is currently presenting the Hello Happiness audio series for Wellcome Collection, all about mental and physical health.
