As a writer and artist whose soul is immersed in her
motherland, Savia Viegas’ work has, invariably, been closely associated with
the Goan identity. As an art historian who has studied ancient Indian culture
as well as Indian, Islamic and pre-modern art, these influences have, albeit
unconsciously, come to bear on her work as well.
Now as she unveils her second solo exhibition ‘Mementos’ at
the Sunaparanta – Goa Centre for the Arts, Altinho, she reiterates that the
exhibition has “a lot to do with little episodic depictions of Goan life; be it
social, economic or political”, dwelling either on past or present or a
juxtaposition of both. “I paint about what is happening in the core of Goan society.
A lot of my work is based on Carmona, where I live, but representative of the
happenings around Goa,” she explains of her paintings which are suffused with
human figures, trees and interiors of houses or churches representative of Goa.
Seeing herself more as a narrator than an artist, Savia confesses that she
paints when she cannot express herself in text. “My
paintings are textual and through the use of colour I tell stories. Basically,
I see myself as more of a storyteller and less of a painter. So to develop this,
I create a pattern which allows the story to flow in several episodes,” avers
this artist who held her first solo exhibition, ‘Picturing Us’, in 2012 and
authored two books fully illustrated by her – ‘Tales from the Attic’ and ‘Let Me Tell You about
Quinta’.
Her
latest oeuvre of work on canvas with acrylic paints are but one large body of
work which comprises 25 pieces. “All exist in one template. This is the Asiatic
mode of painting. I find it difficult to work on a large surface, therefore I
use smaller canvas mounts and then cram them with colour and detail,” she explains.
Painted between 2010 and now, the strong colour palettes of the paintings help
to heighten the narrative.
In
conversation with well-known art curator and critic, Margaret Mascarenhas,
after the unveiling, Savia will discuss her art style which is illustrative,
but flat. “Because the perspective is flat,
this style of painting is identified by western schools as naive art. But this
style was used in cave paintings in the old leaf manuscripts by the Turkish
painters, the Pahari School of painters and the illustrators of most Asiatic
texts. So I like to use a language of expression that is of Asiatic origin. You
can say I am influenced by these schools and the way the narratives are
developed can be read in the same manner,” she summarises as she invites people
to view and understand the story underlined therein.
