GEORGE TOWN, Aug 3 ― Faith. Confidence. Freedom. Inspiration. Tranquility. Love. Focus. Fidelity. Dependability. Allure. Metamorphosis. Friendship.
These are but some of the life values that play an important part in Christine Das' life at this moment… and they are all depicted in bright, flamboyant strokes of blues, reds, orange, purple and greens in her paintings.
The Penang-born artist chose to present the things that are important to her at the pivotal moment of turning 50 in the only way she knows best ― through her bold, bright stylised art.
Christine celebrated her 50th birthday with her fourth solo exhibition titled “Conversations@50” at the Penang Performing Arts Centre (Penangpac), Straits Quay; the exhibition is also in conjunction with George Town Festival (GTF).
“’Conversations@50’ is about me turning 50 this year, the theme is based on my life values.
“Every painting, there are a total 18 pieces, every single one of them is a different value that I hold of importance to me right now,” she said of her works in an interview with Malay Mail Online.
There are a total 21 pieces on display at the exhibition, 18 new works while three are from last year.
This time around, Mother Nature, otherwise known as Gaia, is one of the main theme in her acrylic on canvas works.
She is Faith as she lifts her face towards a white fluttering bird that is somehow lifting her chin to the skies.
She is Kindness as she sits, her long tresses trailing behind her with twines curling around her and a bird resting on her shoulders.
In some of the pieces, the elephant trunk is introduced into the picture, where it curls around the tendrils of her hair in Friendship while in another, in Courage, the trunk curls around her waist.
Christine said she started focusing more on Mother Nature since last year and for the first time this year, she is displaying some kind of interaction between Mother Nature and the animals, particularly the elephant.
This year is also the first year that the artist let animals take centre stage in her work and it was the first time she painted a tiger, eagles, seahorses, a horse and a peacock.
She also painted birds, particularly owls, as the main focus in some of the paintings, in which Envisage, a stunning owl with a steady orange stare, is depicted in beautiful swirls of all shades of purple and whites.
“Envisage is about having a clear vision of where I'm headed. How he turned out was a total surprise.
“I had something else in my head, when I started to paint him, as he was evolving on canvas, he kind of surprised me the most. The whole piece surprised me the most,” she said of the piece that became the main cover of her portfolio on the exhibition.
Christine has a soft spot for elephants as these gentle lumbering animals are often depicted in her art pieces and she admitted this is because of Little Joe, the baby elephant that was rescued after his herd and mother was poisoned to death in Sabah.
I
t was because of Little Joe that Christine started working with Borneo conservation efforts and soon, she started collaborating with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Malaysia and eventually designed a T-shirt of the Bornean elephants for WWF.
Painting has become more than a passion for the former graphic designer as it has also become a medium for her to take part in animal conservation efforts.
“I have found a way to do what I love and use my skill to help in conservation works,” she said.
Christine is selling the WWF T-shirts she designed, where proceeds go to WWF's conservation efforts, and also postcards of her work where part of the proceeds also go to elephant conservation works.
“Conversations@50” is now open daily from now until August 28. Find out more about Christine and her art at www.christinedas.com and find out more about GTF events at georgetownfestival.com.
