This art is child's play

When it comes to creativity, age is just a number. The works of Treesa Mary Xavier, a ninth grade student at Rajagiri Christu Jayanthi Public School, Kochi, tell us this.

Treesa’s works are so unlike those of children her age. They are mostly surreal as human beings blend with nature, and recapture the innateness of the species. They discuss how much we are connected to all that is around us and sometimes they muse on how much we have drifted away from our surroundings. She uses acrylic and charcoal to paint whatever pops up in her mind. Treesa believes that those two mediums contribute to the serenity of the images. Her works, mostly portraits, indeed amuse the viewers and make one wonder if at all human faces are as much ‘real’ as those in her paintings.

“She has always been fascinated by people’s postures, their shapes and faces,” Treesa’s mother says. Her paintings have several images that portray multiple shades of people; some as two distinct shades within the same person and some with two different, but entire, faces. When asked about creating multilayered images, she says she is interested in understanding different aspects of a person. “I am fond of science fictions. It’s my favourite genre. My paintings would indeed have essence of the books I read and the films I watch,” the little artist says.

Her family narrated how she started drawing pictures at the very early age of one year. “Other kids cry for toys, whereas Treesa cried for a pencil and a book,” they said. A collection of her early drawings have also been exhibited along with the main section. The family was settled in Sharjah but relocated to Kochi, expecting better exposure for Treesa.

The little artist is a great follower of the widely known Happy D. Artist, whose art works transplant the viewer into the mind space of wonder and possibility, and wishes to go heights like her.

The exhibition, titled Through My Eyes, is going on at Durbar Hall Art Gallery and will continue till 15.