Brush with life

8220;My parents spent the night at McDonald8217;s near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus CST with the shutters down, listening to gunshots. I, however, managed to reach my friend8217;s place on Pedder Road,8221; Saeed says. The artist has been associated with many art exhibitions, working behind the scenes. Her first solo show in the city, Naissance, which opened at Kitab Mahal on the night of the terror attacks, was greeted with a warm reception.

Sonia Fallero, who praises Saeed8217;s works in her blog, told us about the horrific night. 8220;After the opening, we went with Nyela to celebrate at Indigo Deli. An hour later, a man stepped out of Deli and the terrorists shot him,8221; writes Fallero in her blog. She goes on to tell us that after they managed to make it out of Indigo Deli, which was crowded, they made their way out to Gordon House. Saeed and Fallero were supposed to meet up for dinner after drinks, but the the prevailing conditions prevented that. Fallero and her friends were trapped at Gordon House till Thursday morning,

Despite the troubled times, the artist8217;s works are full of hope. 8220;The forms I am now creating stand as metaphors for change, growth and fertility while exploring a sense of intimacy and mystery in nature,8221; says Saeed, whose biomorphic forms evoke a sense of life-like energy and suggest shapes. From fibrous roots, to spongy bones, the forms dance across her canvas with an inner rhythm that is both soothing and exciting.

8220;My work reconnects the world of human consciousness to those things to which it may have become oblivious. Namely, that exists within the body and is part of the larger rhythms of growth and decay, sensuality and fertility,8221; says the artist, who braved a brush with death on the night of her opening in town. Her three-day show will reopen on February 12.