Most of us are familiar with the acting prowess of veteran actress Sheela. We also know Sheela Kochouseph, wife of Kochouseph Chittilappilly, as a successful entrepreneur. However, what we may not be aware of is that both these women are also passionate artists. And now, the Sheelas are coming together to showcase their talent through an exhibition, Sheela and Sheela Painting Exhibition, in Kochi.
Asif Ali Komu of Komusons, who is organising the show, says, “Both these women are prominent faces in Kerala, yet not many know about their talent as artists. We had organised a group exhibition a few years back in which actress Sheela had participated and told us that she had done more than 50 paintings. Recently, I also came to know of Sheela Kochouseph being an artist. So I thought why not bring together both artists, who shared a name and a passion, so that people would come to know of this lesser known talent of theirs.”
“Interestingly, actress Sheela has never had any formal education in art. “I always feel that my works are only a grain of sand under the feet of the great artists our state has seen. But painting has always been a solace for me whenever I’m sad. Even back in school days, I was more interested in arts than academics. Once I drew one of my teachers in my notebook during the class. But I was caught red-handed and the teacher asked me teasingly, ‘Why do you have to draw and disfigure me this way’,” the actress laughs.
She adds, “I have 75 paintings which I have drawn over a span of 25 years. I had a lot more which I had stored in a flat which was unoccupied for a couple of years, but a leak in the room had ruined all those paintings. Even now, I can’t describe the pain of seeing all my works destroyed; it was one of the saddest days in my life! But the paintings I did later are kept in my house. My son told me that since the house is full of paintings and I don’t even have space to put up my new works, why not hold an exhibition and sell it off so that it will stay safe at someone else’s house. I too felt that he was right. The exhibition will include even my latest work, which I finished just two days ago.”
This is the first exhibition of entrepreneur Sheela Kochouseph. “I started painting long back and oil painting has always been a passion for me. In fact, I have formal training in painting. Almost every day I dedicate two to three hours after lunch towards painting and I have approximately 35 paintings done over the past 20 years. I never thought about exhibiting these works until now though,” she explains.
Both the artists have decided to use the funds to support a social cause. “Chennai has been my home since the age of 13. Now that my city has been affected so badly by the floods, I had to do something to help the people. I have been to the affected areas to distribute drinking water, bread packets and food. A major part of the profit I get from this exhibition will go towards the relief work in Chennai and the rest will be used to fund some charitable causes in Kerala,” says the actress.
Sheela Kochouseph adds, “The profits I get from my paintings will also go towards social initiatives in Kerala. I have been planning to set up a fund which will become a regular source for funding cleaning initiatives in parts of the city. So the idea is to execute this plan with the money I generate through the exhibition.”
The exhibition will be held at Le Meridien Hotel, Kochi from Wednesday to January 11, 2015 from 10 am to 7 pm.
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