An interesting
exhibition is on at the Geetanjali Art Gallery at Panjim Pousada by Angela
Ferrao that highlights the experience of the local Goan in the face of the
all-consuming tourism industry. Hordes of domestic and foreign travellers come
every year and its effects are highlighted in the exhibition in stark terms.
The exhibition was the brainchild of
Benedito Ferrao, an assistant professor in Island studies and history in
America at William and Mary. He has been researching the Goan story, the local
issues with regards to tourism. He is also the author of a comic book which has
been illustrated by Angela which focuses on the issues addressed in the
exhibition. He suggested they have an exhibition. She said she has been doing
her work for years and he suggested it was time she showed them to the public.
They worked together on the book and the exhibition which was curated by him.
When asked what process he followed while curating her work, she said they tell
a story on tourism, on the impact of tourism on the locals. One did not have to
show the locals but it could be inferred by the decoration of the place she
said.
Describing her creative process, she said, “For the book it was
Benedito’s writing which included his research and observations and years of
understanding of how the system works for and against you. Some of the work was
inspired by articles”. One of her works in the exhibition is about John Dias,
the young Goan goalkeeper, the only son of a single parent who went to the USA
to earn a livelihood and lost his life when the shop in which he was working in
was attacked by assailants with guns.
Some of her work she said was a response to situations that
arose around her. Sometimes she says the process means the job is completed in
five minutes and then there are times where she has to think about it for an
hour, and it is important to say something. She gave the example of the
developments in Gaza saying that the humanitarian crisis was so huge, as a
human being you could not see it as a religious conflict. It was a situation
she said where children were being killed in their homes and no one knew when a
bomb would be dropped on their house. No one could go on living a normal life
cutting onions she put it. So she said a lot of her work was a reaction to just
the media.
When asked how much time it would take to do a job, she said,
“It would depend on the job. For example if it was a world leader, I wanted to
show, then I would look at various photographs taken from different angles. For
example, if I was working on PM Modi, I would ensure I got his angles right and
it would take some time.”
She said she would be present at the gallery to meet visitors
and talk to them about the paintings. People would then understand Goa and
Goans, this land was inhabited for centuries by Goans and what one could see
now was disruption, the elimination of traditional lifestyles. The people who
come here were not coming here to admire anything, it was consumption, they
would be thinking why were they not getting all this in their place. She had a
visitor a couple of days earlier who had settled in Goa for over fifteen years.
She said he was from another tourist friendly state and she asked him why he
left that place to come here. He was stunned into silence because he had never
asked himself that question. She was not saying tourism was bad but there was a
carrying capacity which was exceeded and was now no longer enjoyable. Reactions
to the exhibitions have been interesting, she said. Someone who had just moved
was feeling really bad. Another person who was an activist felt like crying. A
group of tourists said it hurt them in their hearts seeing the exhibition. She
said she had achieved what she had set out with this small set of drawings
which run into the thousands. She had achieved a little whisper.
When
asked what next she said it was not possible to stop especially when one had an
idea, she had been trying to complete a children’s book for several years but
several situations would emerge and she would get busy with them leaving this
on the backburner. Some of the works had been sold and since they were all on
digital, she would make a copy or two. The exhibition will be on display till
December 18.
