KOCHI: At the David Hall art gallery, artist Diana Joseph shows her hands—they are small and compact but seem normal. But Diana has been struggling with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, which makes it difficult for her to hold a pen or a brush. “It is an irreversible degeneration of the nerves and happens when you use a computer too often. Many in the IT industry suffer from it,” she says. Her exhibition titled ‘Manimal’, features tigers, lions, zebras, stags, deer, wolves, and an elephant—with two gleaming tusks, flapping ears and a piercing eye.
Due to her illness, Diana uses her fingers to paint. She either reverse paints or mixes colours directly on the painting . She uses a razor or knife to remove acrylic paint, and for oil, she uses turpentine and cloth. Diana uses three mediums interchangeably on a single canvas -- acrylic, pastel and aqua oil. Paintings featured at the exhibition are large—either 5’ x 4’ or 5’ or 6’.
Diana has been a fan of elephants since her childhood. She would come down from Bangalore to her grandparents’ home in Chellur, Irinjalakuda, during summer vacations. “In May, it would be the pooram season, and the elephants would stay in our courtyard. I would spend an entire day just watching its movements. It was fascinating. Maybe, I was meant to love elephants. My name Diana has an ‘ana’ (elephant) in it.” she adds.
Eyes are the most powerful feature in each painting. A tiger has been drawn with a luminous green pair of eyes. “In real life, their eyes glow in the dark. The eyes are the most challenging bit to create and take longer. They are a window to the soul of the painting.” Diana says.
A frame called ‘Linger’ shows two lions cuddling each other, their eyes warm. The artist seems to have conveyed that even in the toughest animal, there are tender moments. Another image is of a gorilla, almost angry, with striking red eyes. All animals, except human beings, have coloured sclera (the white outer layer of the eyeball). “Because of this white background, one can easily gauge the emotions of a man. But you can’t do that with animals,” observes the painter.
An image of a stag and doe with their antlers entwined, and the sun setting in the background is yet another beautiful piece. “Sunset is a very important moment for animals. It’s when they know the day has ended and that it is time to settle down for the night,” Diana elaborates.
Diana also runs a Kochi-based NGO, ‘Venda’ (Say No To Drugs). “There is a new crisis everyday. So, painting is a refuge for me,” says Diana about the decision to restart the hobby two years ago, after a 20-year hiatus. Diana made a quick impact once she started painting. Her art has buyers even in Germany . Another foreign collector has expressed his interest in owning paintings from the ongoing exhibition as well.