Lost in the green maze

Orina Cohen, an Israeli artist, travelled to Vagamon when her heart yearned for a vacation after a period of hard work. But, she didn’t just want to travel, explore the place and leave. Since she is an artist, she wanted to pursue something linked to that. “I thought of looking for a residency in Kerala and found Palette People Artists Residency in Vagamon on the internet. And, that was a kind of place I was looking for, where I wouldn’t have to deal with any home issues or food issues. Also, I could explore some artistic quests and be able to interact with other artists,” says Orina, who had a memorable two weeks in the residency.  “It was really a special experience, both personally and professionally. I could meet some interesting Indian young artists here,” she says.

 

It is not Orina’s maiden visit to India. “I have been to India several times before. For many years, I have done some Indian studies. My previous visit was seven years ago. I like India, especially the good things,” she says. “My last visit to Kerala was 14 years ago. That time, my 78-year-old mother felt so jealous that she came to Kochi for a week.”   The story behind envy is this. “That is a different story. She was a doctor and researcher of human genetics. In the beginning of her career, she did a research on the genetic diseases Jews who came to Israel from Kochi used to have. She was very fond of those people. So, she was very curious to see the place from where they came. We had an amazing time. People were amazed to see an old woman who goes out to travel. Somehow, through a family connection, we were invited for a Friday dinner with a Jewish family. It was an extraordinary experience. She enjoyed every minute in Kochi. Everyone was so kind and had respect for her,” she explains.

 

The stay at Vagamon helped Orina, an art graduate, polish her style in painting. “During my study time, I mixed many disciplines like painting, computer art, theatre, and movement. But, in the last few years, I have decided to focus mostly on painting. So, I rented a big studio four years ago and began to explore my own language. Coming here was an opportunity to explore some new painting issues I wanted to investigate,” says Orina. 

 

The residency showed her the next step. “For a long time, I felt the need to prove that I could paint. I did that through realistic paintings, but knew that wasn’t really me. I got an answer upon reaching here. It wasn’t easy. I needed a lot of courage. But, it was a good place, to begin with; to go abstract using nature or anything I see as a guideline, to take it as an insight to go further and deeper into myself. The view from the studio window was so beautiful that you would be compelled to use landscape. I used it as a platform to build something new,” says Orina.