“I am a person who wishes to live enjoying the ultimate freedom of life. I can’t follow any rules and regulations and I always wish to fly like a bird, without any fears and boundaries,” says Joseph Desmond Rebeiro, an artist from Fort Kochi. He conducted a solo painting exhibition named ‘Talking Colours and Childism’, at Durbar Hall art gallery in Kochi. At the expo, there were over 30 watercolour, oil and acrylic paintings on display.
He hasn’t given the names of the paintings in the front; instead he wants the viewers to make an interpretation of his paintings because he gives much importance to self-analysis and thought process. “Every work of art takes birth from a concept. It may be nature, attitude of mankind or pollution. Each minute thing can be an inspiration for my artistic study and it will be unique,” says Desmond. He believes that art cannot be taught by anyone. “There is no school, no academy for any art; rather it’s a creation,” he adds.
‘The Bleeding from the Ozone Layer’, ‘Moods’, ‘The Broken Law’, ‘The Turning Point’ and ‘Fisherman’ are some of the paintings displayed at the exhibition. Most of these works have been done with great intelligence and they talk about liberty and freedom. This was the concept that largely attracted the young ones because Desmond is a person who believes in freedom of life. He believes in the life of each painting. He says, “Once you start talking with the paintings, they will respond to you; they will tell what you are”.
‘Monsoon’ was the first painting made by Desmond, which talks about his nostalgic days in monsoon season which is a rare vision in the present time. The painting named ‘The Bleeding from the Ozone’ talks about the destruction caused to nature due to pollution. ‘The Moods’ deals with different emotions. In the painting, he has used different colours to portray various moods.
The paintings made by Desmond cannot be recreated by anyone because of the uniqueness of the colour tone and concept. He admits that even he cannot recreate his own paintings. When he was asked to pick a favourite painting, he says, “All the paintings are my children. If I choose one, the others will question me; so all are my favourites,” he concludes.
