Her point of view -NEERAJA MURTHY (An exhibition by Milburn Cherian)

Milburn Cherian on her artistic journey and why the human condition will always be her pet topic

“I am not good with words; So I paint,” quips artist Milburn Cherian on her debut art show in Hyderabad. Her canvases seem like colourful postcards from a distance; move closer and you are hit by the grim realities of the day. The themes get a surreal touch and the suffering, misery and poverty blend in the colours and figures. One can’t take eyes off the images especially for its intricate and vivid detailing.

With a degree in graphic designing, art was never in her scheme of things. As a student of textile design from Sophia College in Mumbai, she visited the mills and NID in Ahmedabad as part of a college trip. “I liked the campus and I decided to join it,” she recalls. She didn’t pursue a career in design. On hindsight she thinks she would have been a ‘bad graphic designer’. I like to complicate things and one has to simplify things in a graphic design so that people get the message in a split second.”

World of doodles

Finding greater joy in doodling complex designs, Milbur stopped graphic designing as it was killing her creativity. “I used to just paint on paper and keep it under the mattress. I never thought of being an artist as I was not a born artist and didn’t have the drawing skills too.”

When her sister gifted a book by Pieter Broughel, she wanted to be an artist like him and began learning how he paints the earth, fabric, figures and spaces. “It was the bible for me to teach myself how he paints.” She was also influenced by Salvador Dali’s surreal way of painting. “I mixed realism, Broughel, Dali and and managed to get away with it,” she smiles.

The exhibits at Chitramayee art gallery, including her old and recent works, show how Milbur’s colour palette has changed over the years. While the old paintings showcase earthy tones, the recent ones on clowns have refreshing blues (“The theme lightens my mood”). Her faith and devotion comes to the fore in her images on Biblical themes, human conditions remain her pet topic. “The wretchedness that you see all around is overpowering. The corruption and greed that you are going through has to be emphasised; the broken bodies and a surreal touch help to emphasise that. I have tried doing some paintings with full bodies but that doesn’t excite me.” It is also amazing to note that Milburn doesn’t use a pencil or eraser on canvas. She doodles with the brush and starts doodling her figures. “I think of the details when I get to the figures. I am the most clueless artist but no one believes when I say that,” she laughs.

One her paintings ‘The Healing’ that shows Jesus Christ healing the lepers has a special story. “Artists from all over India were invited to take a passage from Bible and interpret it in their own way. Forty paintings were sent to Goa and we were apprehensive as there were masses of people who had come for the exposition of St. Francis Xavier’s body. We told them it is not for sale and put an acrylic cover to protect it. Three months later when it came back, there were million finger prints on it,” shares her husband Eipe Cherian.

Unlike earlier, Milburn is now comfortable with the canvas. “I don’t get nervous and art is passion now. I love painting but I am still trying to get there.” On a concluding note she states she is doing it only for the love of god. “I am not chasing fame or fortune. I am not painting to impress people. He has blessed me with a talent and I am putting it to maximum use.”

The wretchedness that you see all around is overpowering. The corruption and greed that you are going through has to be emphasised

(Old World New Palette — An exhibition by Milburn Cherian is on display at Chitramayee Art Gallery till November 1)