Ben Uri Research Unit

Born: 1930 Poona (now Pune), India

Year of Migration to the UK: 1968

Other name/s: Zainab Madarasawalla

Biography

Zainab Reddy (née Madarasawalla) was born in Poona (now Pune) British India (Now India) in 1934. After completing her art degree at the University of Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1955, Reddy met Dennis (also known as Annamneedi) Reddy, a medical scholar from South Africa and her future husband. The couple quickly relocated to the province of Natal (now KwaZulu-Natal) in South Africa and settled in the town of Stanger. Swiftly immersing herself in the artistic community, Reddy showcased her creations at the 51st annual exhibit of the Natal Society for the Arts (NSA) within a year. She was distinguished as one of three Indian contributors and the sole Indian female artist. Reddy further displayed her work in exhibitions across South Africa, including in Bloemfontein, Durban, Kimberley, Queenstown, Stanger, and Stellenbosch. She also took part in one of South Africa’s pioneering exhibitions exclusively for women, held at the Payne Brothers Department Store in Durban. Initially, she taught art at Temple Indian Girls School and later became a lecturer at the University College for Indians (also known as University of Durban-Westville) on Salisbury Island in Durban Harbour.

Reddy’s resistance to apartheid and advocacy for a more tolerant society are evident in both her subject matter and the reception of her paintings. This is exemplified in the review of Reddy’s 1958 exhibition at Helen de Leeuw’s Von Brandis Street Gallery in Johannesburg: ‘Parties may rise or fall, politicians triumph or go into the wilderness, apartheid be ever more the order of the day, but there is still a basement in the centre of Johannesburg where the elegance of the West meets the colour of the East in happy harmony. […] In the work of Zainab Reddy is to be traced, not unnaturally, influences of East and West,’ (F.L., 1958, p. 8). Notably, this exhibition was the first in Johannesburg dedicated solely to an Indian artist. Reddy’s oil paintings drew inspiration from the French painter, Paul Gauguin, while offering an Eastern perspective. In contrast, her watercolours exuded a unique style deeply rooted in classical Indian painting. As a critic from the 1950s observed, ‘in these she is happier than when painting under strong western influence, retaining a nostalgia for the inescapable heritage,’ (F. L., 1958, p. 8). Many of her artworks on display were produced in Natal. Pieces such as Figures in Landscape and Two Women in Landscape featured vibrant colours and proportions reminiscent of Persian miniatures, while her artwork titled Holi depicted figures with the angular shapes characteristic of Indian dancers. Her works also reflected the compositions of ornate murals. Critics, however, were less complimentary about Reddy’s representation of African subjects, commenting that she was ‘less authentic and seems not yet to have captured the essence of the Zulu personality,’ (F. L., 1958, p. 8).

Overall, Reddy’s artistic approach was rooted in modernism, characterised by her tendency to simplify and streamline shapes and figures. Her canvases, often infused with brilliant colours reminiscent of the vibrant palette in Indian painting, predominantly depicted women and the natural world. Her work, The Human Race (Or Maja) (1962) also drew inspiration from Gauguin and the German Expressionists, portraying individuals from diverse racial backgrounds interacting and intertwining with each other. Having migrated from another country, Reddy found the apartheid and racial tensions in South Africa both foreign and challenging. Her paintings, viewed through these societal complexities, aimed to convey messages of unity and peace among diverse races. The challenges posed by apartheid likely influenced the Reddys decision to move from South Africa to London, UK.

Around 1968, Reddy immigrated to London with her family, where her husband continued to work as a general practitioner in Hanwell, west London. Together, they had four children. Reddy also received several awards for her volunteer work. For instance, she collaborated with Worth Unlimited, a UK Christian charity that supports young people, aged eight to 25, facing exclusion and illiteracy. In 2010, maintaining her links with South Africa, she participated in the exhibition SAMSARA: a Continuous Pursuit at the Durban Art Gallery. This exhibition highlighted the melding of Indian influences in South African art, juxtaposing traditional motifs from seasoned artists with the contemporary interpretations of emerging ones, focusing on identity and heritage. Currently, little is known about her life after she moved to London in the late 1960s. However, she participated in the Women's International Art Club (WIAC) annual shows at the Grafton Galleries during the 1970s and her volunteering work suggests that she lived in London, England. Currently, her work is not represented in the UK public domain.

Related books

Thavamani Pillay, 'The Artistic Practices of Contemporary South African Indian Women Artists: How Race, Class and Gender Affect the Making of Visual Art', (Master Thesis: University of South Africa, 2014)
Goolam Vahed, Ashwin Desai and Thembisa Waetjen, Many Lives: 150 Years of Being Indian in South Africa, (Pietermaritzburg: Shuter, 2010)
F. L., ‘Zainab Reddy’s Exhibition of Paintings’, New Age, 24 April 1958, p. 8

Selected exhibitions

SAMSARA: a Continuous Pursuit (group show), Durban Art Gallery, (2010)
Women's International Art Club annual show, Grafton Galleries, London (1973)
Women's International Art Club annual show, Grafton Galleries, London (1971)
Women's International Art Club annual show, Grafton Galleries, London (1970)
Solo exhibition, Helen de Leeuw’s Von Brandis Street Gallery, Johannesburg (1958)
Natal Society for the Arts 51st Annual Contemporary Art Exhibition (group show), Natal, South Africa (1956)

Ben Uri archive

Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Zainab Reddy]

Ben Uri Research Unit

for the study and digital recording of the Jewish, Refugee and wide Immigrant contribution to British visual culture since 1900.

Zainab Reddy artist