Riveting ruins

When quarantine art chimes with the zero wastage anthem that is just so relevant today, the kitchen becomes a canvas, writes Shilpi Madan

Call it a rush of kitchen creativity or an unbeatable ingenuity to be able to shape stunning renditions using inedible discards that inevitably pop up while cooking at home, avid aesthete Shaheen Desai has been chronicling her thoughts through her artistic handiwork.

“The stories emerge from my subconscious, in sheer subtleness, from inedible discards. As these emerge in the process of preparing food at home, the ideas take shape on their own,” says Shaheen with a smile. Make way then for blanched tomato skin to masquerade as a redolent Gulmohar flower, or for the malai skimmed off a cup of hot tea as a dramatic streak on the leftover sample wood for her kitchen cabinet makeover. It is an abstract canvas. “The ideas just brew and take form as I play with the ingredients available with me at that moment,” she says. So the appearance of green red and orange chillies off the chopping board brought in the Covid-19 zones of demarcation, with broccoli rejects forming clouds, banana skin bits forming the scape, complete with a cobbled pathway and the mould of garlic lending a dusty sheen to the artwork, charred bell pepper skin lingering post a soup-making session, then purpose themselves into a decidedly intriguing doodle.

Shaheen Desai

What lends a supple touch is the poetry that flows in. “The garden of the world has no limits, except in your mind,” says Rumi. “A flower blossoms for its own joy,” articulates Oscar Wilde.... these captions shape Shaheen’s creations.

Elegantly arranged flowers ruminate in leftover chilli stubs and used tea leaves, as blushing onion peels collude to form petals, mango skin, dry lemongrass stalk and wilted mint leaves dart through the medley with cheery seeds, pistachio skin, lychee stalks and the stringy gut of the pumpkin in @mykitchentales.

“My own thoughts come pouring out, with my feelings and emotions. Perhaps as there are less distractions now and we are home-bound, my connection with my own sense of aesthetics has begun to evolve. I feel my quarantine art chimes with the zero wastage anthem that is just so relevant today. The best part is that there is no pressure to perform,” she says, having made over 30 tangible mood boards, with the watercolour rendition of the beetroot smudge singing through with ruddy élan.

“People have been following my creations as I have been posting them on Instagram. They send me messages on Whatsapp on how the originality of the compositions simply lifts their mood as they are visually appealing. The imperfections abound and that is what humanises each of my compositions,” she says passionately. There is wisdom in natural simplicity and the beauty of it comes alive in Shaheen’s handiwork that makes use of the best tool — her hands. “No brush, no knife. Only discards that emerge when I peel fruits and vegetables.”

It is the fun and the resulting satisfaction that makes her creativity thrive.

As Pablo Picasso famously said — “Art washes away from the soul, the dust of everyday life,” Shaheen now plans to put together photographs of her unique creations and hold an exhibition in the near future. Riveting ruins make for rave-worthy renditions.