Alternately subtle and literal, her firm strokes in Conté crayons, charcoal and pencil encapsulate a village’s, and by extension, the state’s long-standing battle against mining lobbies and realty sharks who have usurped Goa, both tangibly and intangibly.
Explaining his decision to add Pinto’s work to the exhibition ‘Economic Inquest’ along with Hong Kong artist Gum Cheng
and Indian artist Yogesh Barve, Sumesh Sharma of Clark House Initiative says it was the social realism in her work that
appealed to him. “She not only showed me her work, but also took me around her village which helped me see her art in its context. Her work adopts a figurative narrative to express her opposition to what is happening in Goa ,” says the curator.
Selling the work was never the motive, he adds. “People have this false notion about Goa, only focusing on the beaches
and tourists. But the evils lie under the layers and conveniently hidden in the folds of the fabric that forms our society. This negative aspect has been eroding everything Goan –the land, law, habitat and heritage. The visuals have an impact. I wanted to reach the grassroots as well as a larger audience,” says the artist.
Five of Pinto’s works are on display at the exhibition in Mumbai. One such piece, Dolleam add Mosonn Padd, she says is a juxtaposition of elements that represent the exodus caused by the Portuguese passport. This exodus, for the artist, cost Siridao some of the strongest voices against the perpetrators,
though they still support her. Pinto still
recalls a leading miner and hotelier ostensibly
attempting to construct a bungalow,
but when the plans were referred
to an architect, he confirmed that the
layout was for a hotel.
“They used dynamite to blow up part
of the hillock, ignoring that there is a
16th century chapel and another structure
believed to be any equally old
Jewish synagogue below it. The foundation
was weakened by these explosions,”
says Pinto, who is also a member
of Goenchea Xetkarancho Ekvott (GXE).
The artist rues that most of the boys
who once physically lay on the roads to
block this project have migrated to various
parts of the world.
Her work Obliteration has a similar
sensibility, representing the loss of history
in a place like Goa. “Today, we all enjoy
using the Goa Velha bypass. But how
many know the names of farmers who
had to sacrifice their lands as part of
the reclamation to build this bypass?”
says Pinto.
Her other three works on display at
the exhibition, Building China, Merry
We Go Round and While They Were
Sleeping portray the sale of agricultural
land and the tonnes of illegally shipped
ore to feed the unending appetite in
China.
“While they (China) build the wonders
of the world, Goa lies ramshackled, with
no land, no trees, no paddy fields,” she
says.
And yet when Pinto first saw the title
‘social activist’ attached to her name,
she found it unnecessary. It wasn’t a
chosen profession, but an inherent passion…
for her village and her home
state…and the need to save it.
“Our society believes that social awareness
and protection is only the domain
of professionals and those with certificates
proving they have formal knowledge.
I don’t look at it as activism, I am
a villager of Siridao and I need to protect
the land I call home,” says the 33-yearold
artist.
The exhibition which opened on August
10 will be on till September 30 at
the Mumbai Art Room.
