What I Love About Frida Kahlo…, Immersive Art Exhibit

“I paint flowers so they will not die.” — Frida Kahlo

My love for experiential art began in 2016. When the permanent show Future World, a collaboration with the Japanese art collective teamLab, debuted in Singapore. It’s obvious I am in love with bright and vibrant colours. I also find my increasing appreciation for flowers rather amusing. The wiser I grow and more in love with nature, I realised—like colours—flowers are just as symbolic to life. Never too late to the party I guess. Colours, flowers, and life resemble strong traits of women. There is no better subject reference for this article than one of the most influential women artists of the 20th century, Frida Kahlo.

Her immersive art exhibition Frida Kahlo: The Life of An Icon that recently landed in Singapore was an absolute treasure in every corner. Honestly, I have never read in-depth on Frida Kahlo’s biography until this event. My first time coming across her works was in 2007 from an art book in the library. I was studying visual communication part time while working in retail fashion. For my final project that I wanted to showcase a combined skillsets in photography, typography and graphic design based on the topic of colour theory, I used a variety of paintings as references. A couple of Frida’s works really stood out to me till this day. You’ll see them in this article.

Intro To Frida Kahlo

This art exhibit Frida Kahlo: The Life of An Icon, is an immersive biographical showcase charting through her life and work phases. It really is an experiential transportation amongst eight thematic spaces. Where there were films, photographs, 360 degree projections, and interactive installations for visitors to partake. What I really like about the entire show was that it incorporated—and tactfully balanced—complex emotions at every stage. She is an icon who truly represented resilience, diversity and self-empowerment. And, through it all, just as how the show consistently and perfectly exuded the always gentle yet powerful essence of love.

Frida Kahlo is a Mexican painter born in 1907, mainly known for her self-portraits. She led a life of adversities which she consistently overcame till her very last breath. Her passions lie in political activism and painting. She is a lover of nature and animals. Yet amongst all, she is a deeper lover of Love. Her full bio can be found here.

Immersive Art Exhibition Tour Reel

Life of Adversities, Pain & Heartbreak

Frida Kahlo contracted polio as a child, which caused her to limp due to uneven growth in her legs. She masked the physical imperfection by wearing long skirts for coverage all her life. To aid her recovery, she did a lot of sports.

One of her life’s most pivotal moments was the life-changing accident at age 18, on a school bus. It fractured, broken and dislocated many parts of her body. Bedridden and in full body cast for months after more than 30 surgeries, Frida Kahlo gave up her medical dream and went back to her childhood interest in painting. That was all she could do. Her room was set up with customized easel that hung her canvas while she painted laying in bed. A mirror was also installed on the ceiling so Frida could at least see her own reflection. She lived in such environment multiple times throughout her life from the aftermath of the accident—chronic pain and surgeries after surgeries.

As for the matter of heart, Frida was in love with her husband of more than 20 years, Diego Rivera, a famous and established Mexican mural artist. Their relationship was one that filled with love, lusts, comfort and chaos. Although his consistent betrayals had deeply wounded her, they can’t seem to stay clear of each other’s lives. Frida’s strong desire to be a mother was halted as her injured body could not hold her pregnancy, which left her devastated twice.

“Feet, what do I need you for when I have wings to fly?” — Frida Kahlo

At a later stage of her life, she also had her right leg amputated. What hurts Frida the most, as she mentioned, “There have been two great accidents in my life. One was the trolley (car accident), and the other was Diego. Diego was by far the worst.”

Frida Kahlo’s Works of Significance

Self-taught herself back into painting, Frida Kahlo said, “I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best.” I particularly like the part “…I am the subject I know best.” because that is just so beautiful and important for every individual.

At 16, I did my very first amateur portrait painting in A0-size, of a heartbroken girl reminiscing her lost rag doll. It was for my school’s final exam with a heavy 60% weightage to the overall score. Interestingly, I have never painted a portrait before and honestly do not like drawing humans. So, I don’t know why I decided to take that risk. It was a very emotionally sad painting and it has been my favourite piece of work so far. I don’t have the painting with me anymore but I still dream about it once in a blue moon. That’s a whole other story.

Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird

Point is, yes, I have a thing for portraiture—both in paintings and photography. Hence, when I first came across Frida’s Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird painting during a research for my graphic design project as mentioned in earlier part of this article, I fell in love immediately.

This is one of her most well-known artworks. It exudes pain, and reminded me of my own ‘Girl and Her Lost Rag Doll’ (Just gave it this name as I’m writing lol). I love how this painting is a composite of many strong elements such as her strong brows, black cat in that prowling position, thorns and a dead bird in dark hues. Yet, on the contrary, it has feminine elements in exquisite details (transparency and breakable-like material), colours and nature’s resemblance that bring an overall delicate essence. Would’ve been better if there were a little more colours on the hummingbird in my opinion, however, it is well-balanced regardless.

The Broken Column

“At the end of the day, we can endure much more than we think we can.” — Frida Kahlo

Life Frida Fought For

An important lesson was that, Frida turned her pain into power to rebel off the chains which held her back. She decided to amplify her artist career and began to unapologetically express herself in her truest sentiments via her art. While many Surrealists who focused primarily on abstract concepts or dreamscape scenarios detached from reality, Kahlo’s notable contributions in the Surrealism art movement was her ability to seamlessly blend reality through her personal experiences with elements of fantasy and symbolism. Her use of dreamlike imagery and unexpected juxtapositions created a sense of ambiguity that allowed viewers’ interpretations on multiple levels.

Following her husband to America, she started making the right associations with artist like André Breton, pioneer of the surrealism movement. André also brought her and her paintings to Paris for a showcase where she made friends with artists Picasso, Pied Mondrian etc. Her husband and her were also in the likes of American high profile capitalists such as the Rockefellers and the Ford. Especially with the Rockefellers, it’s worth considering how this remarkable patron-artist relationship impacted the art world—before their friendship soured. Both directly and indirectly, the Rockefellers helped fuel the careers and the legacies of Frida Kahlo and Diego Riveras, two major figures in 20th-century art.

Through examining aspects of her early life influences, contributions to Surrealism, and unapologetic approach on art and the happenings of society, it is clear that Kahlo was not just an artist but also a symbol of resilience, authenticity, cultural heritage preservation, and forms of empowerment to many. Living through her career success with repeated hospital visits, her legacy lives on through her powerful artworks which continue to captivate audiences while challenging societal norms even decades after her passing.