Shah Jahan's flowers go Dutch

Bas Meeuws PicArts amp Auto Vincent van den HoogeIf Bas Meeuws gets gifted halfdry tulips and dead dragonflies it is not without reason Meeuws who lives in the southern Dutch city of Eindhoven appreciates the beauty of wilting parrot tulips ldquoThey have a marvellous texture and with some petals falling off they create a lot of dramardquo says the 42yearold artist who makes floral portraits mdash a genre that was de rigueur for 17th century Dutch and Flemish master painters Meeuwsrsquo digital compositions are lifelike at first glance but defy the laws of nature mdash an illusion exploited by his Dutch Golden Age forerunnersFor the India Art Fair 2017 which draws to a close today in New Delhi Meeuws has collaborated with photography collective Tasveer to create a series inspired by Mughal floral motifs that adorned illuminated manuscripts and monuments from the times of Babur and made popular by Shah Jahan Unlike his Dutch portraits which have elaborate vases and a psychedelic profusion of lissom blooms the Mughal series is sparse almost like a botanical studies ldquoIn the Mughal tradition we see a lot of floral designs because of the religious objection to represent animals and people secular works were relatively unaffectedrdquo says Meeuws describing himself as ldquoa white giant shooting little flowersrdquoAs part of his research he spent time over two years in India first landing in what he describes as ldquoa postapocalyptic Delhirdquo it was the morning after the night of Holi and the roads were deserted His India itinerary included the Taj Mahal Fatehpur Sikri and Bengalurursquos botanical gardens Lal Bagh ldquoI build each composition stepbystep The shape of every flower evokes a reaction from another flower how do you bring them all togetherrdquo says Meeuws his art drawing from Mondrianrsquos grids as much as floristscopy Bas Meeuws Mughal Botanical 03 2015 Cprint on dibond behind acrylic Courtesy TasveerThe series which travels around India this year and next will be accompanied by 21 more works also inspired by Mughal florals But instead of minimalism Meeuws says that these will be more elaborate with vases and even the architecture of Fatehpur Sikri in the backdrop Both series he says are not imitations of Mughal floral designs but more experientialOver the last seven years since he started his floral portraits Meeuws has formed a library of over 9000 flower images And if you thought he has catalogued them with the precision of a horticulturalist yoursquoll be alarmed to hear ldquoI wish I did For now they are just chronologically arranged No 1 is the first flower I shot However I have a very good memory and can remember every little poppy and leafrdquoAlongside his art practice Meeuws works as a manual trainer twice a week and is naturally drawn to the healing factor of flowers ldquoWhen I work on my patients it has to be methodical There is technique involved but also empathy Making floral portraits is similar mdash they are a combination of the technical and the emotionalrdquo he says He adds that as dainty or flamboyant as they may seem floral portraits are sugarcoated comments on the brevity of life and the vanity of earthly delightsWhile art lovers could admire these portraits Meeuws says that botanists are often upset with his flowers ldquoBiologists tell me that such creations are not possible But thats the pointrdquo he says adding that if you look closely at the Mughal series you will find similarities between the flowers on each stalk ldquoThatrsquos because each arrangement I create is from the same flower The same hibiscus the same rose the same dahliardquo