24 Paintings made for the Rendezvous Restaurant in the Lalit Group of hotels in 1995.

The paintings were the result of a collaboration between interior designer Sunita Kholi and myself, Sterre Sharma. Sunita designed the restaurant and decided on the colour scheme. She and the owner of the hotel then asked me to make paintings in the selected colours. They wanted to elevate the level of the restaurant by bringing in art. Sunita and the owner gave me the canvases in the required sizes. I was then free to decide on the content of the paintings while Sunita provided her agreement to the designs.

I have always liked to work with other creative people, this brings me a new way of looking at art and stimulates me.

Personally, I called this group of paintings “MASQUERADE”. To me, the concept provided me with a fun way to express colours. It also allowed me the opportunity to make a tongue in cheek comment on people as they present themselves in a social environment like a restaurant!

The paintings took six months to make and were hard work.

It was an incredible moment for me when all the paintings were finally hung together in a matter of two hours.Suddenly the restaurant radiated a completely different energy, it was as if a rainbow had arrived. The work was much appreciated and many people had the opportunity to see the paintings, though at times some splashes of food could end up here and there!

These paintings were on display for 20 years in this hotel and are now displayed in a different hotel.

In this photograph, two heads of clowns are shown, divided into two groups of six.