I had two luxury holidays booked for this year. Although neither were for really exotic destinations, I was really looking forward to them both as an escape from the day to day activity. Now the day to day activities of going out with friends or to an art gallery feel like luxuries. I have managed to do them occasionally, but not as much as I would like.
So, I decided to escape– I was inspired by the story of Antonio Bolivar Salvador from Brazil. Sadly I only knew his story through his obituary in the Economist Magazine.
Antonio Bolivar Salvador Obituary “when he spoke of the Jaguar, lord of the forest, the embodiment of power strength and violence, he would begin to growl deep in his throat. Antonio’s head would move around warily as if he were on the prowl himself. When he mentioned Anaconda the great snake god his hands would slither, swim and twine round each other, getting faster, until still smiling-he might leap from his chair and fling his snake arms around whoever was listening to him.” Extract: The Economist May 30th 2020
As a child, I was fascinated by the people of remote places such as Borneo and spent hours in the library reading about them and seeing their pictures. I found a book on Maori myths and legends which was beautifully illustrated and showed people with very defined features and sculptural tattoos. Antonio Bolivar Salvador’s face reminds me of my childhood.
So, I escaped to Brazil in my imagination. I have embellished my paintings with stories of Anaconda and Jaguar Lord of Forest. I researched the butterflies and the birds and included them too.
You too can escape to the place of your choice- the libraries are open, so are the art galleries ( till Thursday midnight 5th November)
And, you won’t have to isolate when you get back….
postscript: Looks like we will all have to escape this month via the internet and our imagination, till December…..
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