Faced with pain and a near death situation can change one’s perspective and passion for lifetime. That seems to be the case with Seema Mathew, who took to painting with a single-minded devotion after her encounter with cancer.

She is holding her exhibition – her first solo show – at present in Hong Kong.

Born in Bengaluru, art for Mathew was a pastime like many other Indian children. Though she was perpetually drawing, she started some sort of formal training only when she moved to Hong Kong in 2000. Though self-taught, she attended weekend art classes, and picked the brush only when she could spare time!

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A twist of fate, and everything changed, when for the second time, she was found to have breast cancer.

Mathew’s first encounter with the dreaded disease in 2004 didn’t lead to a drastic change. She got better and instead of continuing being a travel agent, she decided to sell art supplies. It was the second time on, when the cancer came back with a vengeance making it both traumatic and frightening, that she took a life-changing decision – pursue her dream of painting full time!

Speaking to the South China Morning Post, she said: “I have always felt like the universe was trying to push me in this direction, I just never really listened. I know now that painting is what I was truly born to do.”

The artist’s solo exhibition is titled “Origa-me”, which is also the name of one of her artworks. The painting portrays a torso – in black and white fragments – that seem to have been fitted together to design a new form, much like the Japanese art of paper folding, origami.

Elucidating on the piece, which is obviously the main one in the show, Mathew said: “The idea for Origa-me was born out of my real-life experience of undergoing multiple reconstructive surgeries in 2012. After such extensive procedures, I viewed my body as a cut-and-paste version of its former self, like an origami.”

The artworks on display have a deep connection with her and embody the relationship between her and her body, which fought valiantly against cancer.

She told scmp.com: “When I paint, I always choose to focus on my inner landscape, emotions and thought processes. Art keeps me motivated, as I always aim to challenge myself by constantly trying something new and pushing the boundaries of what I already know.”

Artist Seema Mathew

The ongoing show has emerged after five years of work by the artist in which she used Chinese ink and water-soluble graphite on linen paper to bring to the fore similarities between human anatomy and the natural world.

According to Mathew, painting has been a catharsis for her as it gave her insight into spirituality, philosophy and human nature.

Art has afforded Mathew a vital catharsis, she says, and gives her a way to visually work through her spirituality, philosophies and understanding of human nature. Painting has greatly helped her to deal with all the pain she underwent while making her positive.

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