Nidhi Mariam Jacob, also known as NMJ is an independent artist based in Bangalore, India.  All her paintings are in some way or the other, an expression of her love for the natural world. She believes in the power of a collective consciousness and is always working to stay immersed and connected to nature and in turn see her dreams for a better world manifest into reality.

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Her stunning floral paintings are infused with the rich memories of her childhood, of long evening walks with her grandfather, the scent of orange Champakam and Jasmine flowers at train stations, watching her mother tend to her garden spending a lot of time out in nature. A Heliconia bunch, wild Lantana, Lotus flower pods and other imagined flowers and plants all lend their influence to the magical realism of her inspired forest creations, her "Fantasy Garden" series.

 

She dreams a garden, and wakes to create it.  

 

Nidhi's work investigates the beauty of nature’s evolution - the continual cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Being inside nature - surrounded by it - and feeling close to the earth's soil is a grounding force in both her life and work.

Her mediums vary from canvas, paper, wood, metal, fabric to the living and breathing human body. She conceptualised "Breathing Canvas", in 2016, which was documented by a documentary filmmaker. It is a photo documentary of body art in an exploration on women reclaiming their bodies and creating powerful narratives within shared spaces, through the simplicity and honesty of touch, silence and breath. A wholly intimate and non-sexualised representation of the human body.

In the lockdown of 2020, she started a watercolor on paper series called "Pods and Buds" inspired from nature's continuous cycle of death and re-birth.

Another personal project that is very close to her heart is "The Orgasm Flower Project". A series of flower paintings inspired from people's writings describing what they feel or experience during an orgasm.

 

Get updates on Nidhi Mariam Jacob's work and life from her social media accounts.