KOCHI: Imagination is the word that rises to the fore when one chances upon the works of Antony M, a find of the cultural milieu of Fort Kochi. With his experimental strokes and mixed mediums topped by a willingness to break away from the tried and tested, the artist’s works occupy a different niche altogether.Though the world remembers Bob Marley in his trademark rasta colours - red, yellow and green, Antony paints the legend in tones of sepia. Antony adds a personal touch to his paintings by way of symbols to tell of more than what meets the eye. He blends his imagination and the depth of colours to paint a tribute to the man who sang of ‘ one love, one heart, one destiny.’ Speaking of his Bob Marley paintings that were exhibited at the past three years’ celebrations of the Bob Marley Collective, Fort Kochi, Antony says, “I painted a portrait of Bob Marley’s face but what I wanted to say was depicted in the arrow heads at the ends of Marley’s mane. The arrows are a motif of Marley’s range - though he died young, generations to come will treasure his memory. His life was a struggle but he never failed to live the life he loved.”Another painting of Antony’s depicts Bob Marley’s face sailing across the seas in a boat, a salute to a music that traversed the boundaries of race and colour. His canvas delves into the universal themes of mortality and explores the power of dreams. The youngest in his family, Antony was born to a soap plant worker and a post office employee couple at Fort Kochi. While childhood found him drawing on scraps of paper, it was only in the ‘90s that Antony took to the ways of the brush and the palette. Though water colours were his initial medium, he now works with oil and acrylic colours on handmade paper and canvas. Often, Antony abandons the brush when he paints with sticks and a knife. The self-made artist has cooked up a storm in kitchens, served tables, worked as a bellboy and captain in hotels over the years. It is only when he manages a respite from work that he rolls open the canvas and revels in the freedom to create.The believer in Antony holds his faith close to his heart as Christ forms the subject of many of his paintings. One of his paintings, portraying the face of Christ, is formed by a dab of colours but what is striking is Christ’s sea-blue eyes.“The eyes, painted like seas, signifies the vast depth of Christ’s all-embracing and forgiving mentality,” explains Antony. Another work showcases the bleeding face of Christ, with the blood trickling down onto earth and redeeming lost souls while a blood red dove hovers above.Antony has exhibited his paintings at Fort Kochi and Marina beaches and his painting titled, ‘Mother & Child’ was featured in various exhibitions organised by the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society.Antony lauds his various life experiences for they inspire him to immortalise moments in colour and he prides himself on being an artist for art’s sake. As the artist walks away, back to his routine in kitchens and hotel corridors, one quotes the very lyrics penned by him, “My feet touched flames, I walked with a fire in my heart. But, the flares did not devour me, life did not cease.”
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