By
AVANTI
NIMavantin@sph.com.sg
IN
under three years, Sukeshi Sondhi has managed to sell more than 50 canvases -
not bad for a new artist. Most of them are screenprint paintings of Mr Lee Kuan
Yew, rendered in a Pop Art style popularised by iconic artist Andy Warhol.
The
collection of works is titled An Icon and a Legend. She explains, "People
think the icon and the legend both stand for Mr Lee, but actually, the icon is
Mr Lee and the legend is Warhol."
Originally
from India, Sondhi became a Singapore citizen five years ago. While attending a
Warhol exhibition at the ArtScience Museum in Marina Bay Sands in 2012, she was
approached by a gallerist to submit her works to an upcoming exhibition titled
Your Singapore, which was funded by the Singapore Tourism Board.
Sondhi
had already been doing Indian Pop Art and she wanted to deepen her connection
with Singapore. She picked Mr Lee as the subject because "he is the only
person who is truly iconic in Singapore", she says.
"Also,
Warhol and Mr Lee are contemporaries who both rose to fame in the 1960s,"
she adds.
Of
the many available pictures of Mr Lee throughout the decades, Sondhi settled on
a youthful image of him from the 1960s, one she calls "Man on a
Mission." To her, the expression on Mr Lee's face conveys the idea that he
is "going to conquer the world and put us on a map... he looks regal and
charismatic".
Like
Warhol's depiction of famous figures such as Marilyn Monroe and John Lennon,
Sondhi repeats this one image several times using different colours and on different
canvases to emphasise Mr Lee's iconic status.
The
paintings have been a hit with collectors, with some buying more than one
canvas to give their friends and loved ones.
Senior
banker Eugene Yang, a repeat client of hers, bought three paintings. He says,
"Other artists take a sombre approach when depicting Mr Lee, but Sukeshi
has captured him at his fiery best - this is a man you'd want to meet."
Ms
Sondhi's paintings range from S$800 to S$5,000, depending on size, and are
available for purchase via her website sukeshisondhi.com