Dolcy D’Cruz
dolcy@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: Run a quick internet search for a syringe painting artist and the first name that pops up is Clarice Vaz, a resident of Saligao. Such is her popularity as an artist who has created a niche market in not just trying out but excelling in an alternative way of creating art. In fact, Vaz is known across the world for her eye-catching syringe paintings and believes that she is the only proponent of the syringe painting technique in India.
A trained nurse who gave up her profession to care for her children, Vaz was introduced to syringe painting by chance.
“I used to administer injections to villagers in Saligao and would sometimes administer seven-day courses, which meant visiting the same homes. I’d carry the used syringes back home as I was not sure how the patients would dispose of them. Then, while dropping my sons off to a school in Mapusa, I would carefully place the syringes in a garbage bin. But I was always inspired by Jackson Pollock’s drip technique and since I had some syringes with me, I gave it a try. Even though I had the talent, it took me years to draw the lines right,” Vaz says.
She has had no formal education in painting, but Vaz meticulously put together 30 paintings over two years for her first solo exhibition, ‘Embracing the Beat of my Art’, in September 2014. Her art was created by techniques such as spin painting, fluid painting and syringe painting.
“I have been influenced by the abstract expressionist works of Jackson Pollock and Van Gogh too. The need to create lines and, in my case, get them to represent a scene that I call abstraction, drove me to use syringes, needles, cannulas of different sizes and feeding tubes. I use paste for texture in my work and feel more comfortable using a syringe than a brush,” says Vaz.
She had five solo exhibitions, which include, ‘Awakening to the Cosmos Within’ in 2015, ‘Sadhana’ in 2017, ‘Beyond the Horizon’ in 2020 and ‘Goan Landscapes’ in 2021. “According to me, a painting is an offspring of the syringe and canvas. The creator in me smiles on seeing the finished work. The euphoria of painting is as wild as it is beautiful. Cool tones and warm, hologram-like patterns create a sense of intimacy in my syringe paintings. I now paint entirely with the syringe technique. This includes painting on pots for fun,” Vaz says.
She is invited to be part of the upcoming group exhibition, ‘Engraved Treasures’, at the Museum of Christian Art (MoCA) in March, for which she is working on a new painting.
“I am preparing for two solo exhibitions too, using my syringe painting technique. Both are on Goan heritage,” says Vaz.
