Celine NAIDOO

Celine Naidoo is a multi-disciplinary artist who uses painting, sewing, graphic design as well as installation to address the intricacies of her identity as a female and what it means in contemporary art today.

 Naidoo’s reference points sit largely in female awareness and the evolution of the modern woman and about creating consciousness on the complexities of experiences as a female. She attempts to unravel past personal trauma as well as understanding the lives of women in her mother and grandmother’s generation and compare the vast differences to the lived experiences and expectations of women today. She often finds herself not being straight forward which has been a major influence into her work allowing for interpretation. 

 Her work is also informed by her Indian conservative heritage, and how it has shaped her as a modern woman today. Her work plays on the boundaries between borderline controversial as well as sarcastism. The irony of Naidoo’s body of work is how each generation of females have lost or changed their priorities and established a new role in society rather than conforming to the stereotypical housewife. Naidoo’s body of work for this year has primarily dealt with her own self portrait that has been reflected through compiling clothing: donated, found, self-owned and made. Donated clothing helps the female viewer relate to themselves and others when viewing the work and identifying their own little story from the installation. Celine Naidoo has stitched on words or inked on messages that relate to her life and what she has been through. Her work is cryptic to the naked eye but once one takes a closer look, her work unfolds like the bundles of hanging clothing, of a true female experience. She has worked in a style that was not taught or practiced around her, showing how she lacks once basic domestic skills and now engages in new skill sets demanded in society outside of the domestic. Shifting the narrative as to what was once important is no longer- or it has been reinvented. Naidoo’s work is a self-reflection but allows most women to reflect on her own life and how she has evolved and be more conscience about the role she plays in society and in her own life. Celine Naidoo is equipped with the understanding and experience of previous trials that has shaped her and makes her work relatable to many women, speaking volumes while still remaining quiet.