I knew I was quarter Indian, because I was well aware of my grandfather, the great Indian modernist, FN Souza.
—Solomon Souza
By Jugneeta Sudan
Perched high up on a crane, I saw a strapping young man energetically spray-paint Brahmanand, the great goalie and long-time captain of the Indian football team, very near to the footballer’s home in Taleigao. As the orange-pink rays of sunset illuminated it, the young artist signed his name with a flourish below the 18’ tall mural and flicked a sign to the truck driver to lower the crane. The crane began a mechanical descent and he stepped out, flushed but triumphant. I was face-to-face with FN Souza’s grandson, the young and famed street-artist, Solomon Souza. Solomon is in Goa, at the invitation of the Serendipity Arts Festival (SAF2019) to paint lesser known Goan heroes on public walls.
His maternal grandfather, Francis Newton Souza was born on 12 April, 1924, in the north Goa village of Saligao. Souza’s father Jose Newton de Souza died shortly after his birth, and his mother Lilia Maria Antunes, struggling with debt, left for Bombay. Souza would spend his youth straddling Goa and Bombay, where his mother was a successful dressmaker. Souza’s early rebellion resulted in him getting expelled from St. Xavier’s School and later from the JJ School of Art. That, however, did not deter his prodigious talent, and popularity as a founder-member of the Progressive Artists Group. In a 1946 exhibition held at the Silverfish Club in Bombay, Souza displayed a strong left-leaning influenced ensemble of pictures, with titles such as, ‘The Criminal and the Judge are made of the same stuff,’ and ‘The Proletariat of Goa.’ In 1949, Souza left India for London. He received little recognition until 1954 when Stephen Spender’s magazine Encounter published his autobiographical essay Nirvana of a maggot. The same year, he was included in a group show at the Institute of Contemporary Arts. Victor Musgrave’s Gallery One held Souza’s first solo show in February 1955, which catapulted both Musgrave and Souza to the forefront of Britain’s avant garde art scene. John Berger’s review of Souza in The Statesman gave a further boost to his career. Gallery One continued to exhibit his solo shows between 1956 and 1961 to critical acclaim. In 1967, Souza left for America, where he failed to recreate the heady success of London. He died in 2002, in near-penury, having not lived long enough to see his paintings sell for millions of dollars at Christie’s. Combining Indian and European influences, Souza is often called the father of Indian modernism, and considered as one of the great 20th century modernist masters.
Sitting with Solomon Souza, the inheritor of the Souza legacy, brown eyes peering through his slim glasses, he bores down at the FN Souza print in my hand. He says, ‘People see themselves in the hideous figures of Souza’s canvas and they are terrified. The canvas is like a mirror, which shows people their true selves. They cannot look, because then they would have to be true to themselves!’
JS: Where were you born? What do you think of your mixed ancestry?
SS: I was born at Homerton Hospital in Hackney, London. I didn’t give much thought to my ancestry, till I grew up and started travelling. When I did that, I realised the difference in cultures of the English, the Jews, and the Indians. The vast differences are so apparent in attitudes of different people. It’s amazing and I am blessed to have a mixed ancestry.
JS: Describe your early influences in life
SS: Amongst my earlier influences, my mother and life in Victoria Park in Hackney have strong imprints. I grew up there, the graffiti on all the trains and train stations, the art in the streets. Besides, obviously my grandfather has been an influence in my early life, his work was incredible and definitely had a huge impact on my life.
JS: Did you have any sense of being Indian /Goan whilst growing up?
SS: I knew I was quarter Indian, because I was well aware of my grandfather, the great Indian modernist, FN Souza. I had Indian friends, but I had no further idea till my recent trip to Goa. Suddenly the enormity of India hit me, its vastness and its encompassing nature. I feel incredibly proud to call myself Indian. Of my Indian heritage, I have fallen in love with my homeland Goa. Also, me being so white, I stand apart from shades of brown skin tones in Goa. People still express bewilderment and surprise when I tell them I am quarter Indian by birth. Looking at me they laugh, and can’t believe it. They are sarcastic and think I must be joking.
JS: How does FN Souza figure in your life?
SS: Souza was a towering presence in my life. As I grew my understanding of him grew too, but the power of his work was always there. That is something local Goans have missed. Most people do not know Souza in his own homeland, Goa. Only the elite in Goa know Souza. Majority of the people I interacted with, have absolutely no idea about him. He left Goa as a four-year-old and never really returned. That’s one of the reasons I am here, to change that, to shed light on his name and legacy. That’s my job.
He is the reason I was invited to Goa by the Serendipity Arts Festival. I have marked my signature, the ‘Souza’ name under spray-painted murals of Goan heroes on numerous public walls of my ancestral homeland. Souza would be proud of my achievement. You [Jugneeta Sudan] wrote, ‘Solomon takes Souza’s art legacy, from attics to public walls.’ I grew up with Souza’s immense body of work in my youth and I intend to do him proud. He is an ever-increasing influence in my life.
JS: Growing up, FN Souza had a close relationship with his mother, Lilia Maria. On a comparative note, how is yours with your mother, Keren Souza-Kohn?
SS: As a growing child, especially as a teenager I wanted to leave my mother, I wanted to run away from her. I don’t know why, don’t know why it was so. I would hide things from her, I wouldn’t tell her anything; keep her in the dark about my activity, my life. In recent years I have really tried to develop my relationship with her. I realise my responsibility now. I still have the stupid tendency, the childish behaviour to hide, but I am growing and I am maturing, moving away from that childish behaviour. Souza may have had a great relationship with his mother as a young child, but Souza left his mother, and went off into the world. He moved abroad and met her years later. For decades, she kept talking about him all the time, but she didn’t know him any longer as an adult matured man, didn’t even recognize him, when he visited her. It was real sad... I wouldn’t like that to happen with my Mama. I left her and came to India. She followed me soon after. I think I am closer to my mother as a grownup and I would like this relationship to grow warmer with passing years, compared to the relationship Souza had with his mother as a grown man.
“My art is definitely influenced by my Jewish faith, my Israeli heritage, and Judaism. My great love for Jewish culture appears on my canvases. Judaism, the Jewish culture, and the book of the Jews has hugely affected the entire world. ”
JS: How much of your art is influenced by your Jewish faith?
SS: My art is definitely influenced by my Jewish faith, my Israeli heritage, and Judaism. My great love for Jewish culture appears on my canvases. Judaism, the Jewish culture, and the book of the Jews has hugely affected the entire world. The greatest dominant religions, Christianity and Islam are derived from it. Literal derivations of the Old Testament exist. Besides, many religious and spiritual paths are derived from it. The Old Testament inspires me, the stories and above all the strong imagery it evokes in my mind. My oil paintings are derived from the Torah, the incredible imagery, some of which is detailed. There is heavy influence of everything Jewish on my work, which I am sure, is quite apparent to see.
JS: How did the transition from England to Israel affect you?
SS: The transition from London to Israel had a profound effect on my life. I first visited Israel when I was 11. I was young and still a child. It instilled in me the love of the land. I became aware of the amazing difference in the two places, of the climate and different social life. After two years, I returned to London. Finally, when I was 17, at a very crucial time in my life, I relocated to Jerusalem. I think it was exactly what I needed at the time. I wasn’t on the right path in London and the move changed the course of my life, in all probability it saved me.
JS: What was your angst, your conflicts as a growing teenager?
SS: Coming of age, all teenagers have issues in the realisation of facets of life. Many things go on at that time, ‘growing pains’ we call them. I was filled with huge angst and conflict at the time in my mid-teens. My mother is a single mom and we were not getting along well. She is an amazing person, she’s my mother and my father and she’s all that I ever needed, but at that time I had this compelling urge to leave her, to run away and to rebel. I did stupid things; I went into stupid, stupid, stupid stuff. I constantly stood against the government machinery, the police. As I grew older, I understood the need for government and social structure, the different levels and its functioning. It’s very important, and I believe in it now. But at the time I was rebelling.
JS: What triggered you to do graffiti initially?
SS: I did my first graffiti when I was 11 years old. It was an act of defiance, for detention in school. To get back at the school authorities, I and my friend spray-painted the school. We were giving it back to them in our own way. It was an act of rebellion but it gave me a good feeling, a whole new rush which in a way was very freeing.
JS: Which graffiti/street artists have influenced your work?
SS: I am inspired by many street artists. Many especially South American street artists are incredible. They are amazing. Alfredo Libre Gutierrez inspires me much, he is also my friend. There are many more, Himbad, Deonis Thekko, difficult to name them all. The graffiti artists come out into the streets and do their work in the night, illegally, without asking anyone or considering anyone really. I kind of like that. I like the graffiti in London. It’s not so stylized or pretty, not meant to be pretty. It’s big and brutal, so that it can be seen from a passing train or highway. It’s brutal but at the same time simple and very, very effective.
JS: You do both graffiti and street art. Are there fine differences between these artistic expressions?
SS: There is graffiti and then there are street artists. So yes, basically street art is for the public, whereas graffiti is very personal. I did graffiti and then evolved into street art. Graffiti writers do not call themselves artists, they are graffiti writers first. There is great pride in it. Street artists are part of a movement, resistance or there is generally a message. It’s more for the public. Graffiti is very personal, quite selfish sometimes, like a dog pissing on a lamppost, it’s territorial. Some write their name on it, to mark territory, ‘I’ve been here, done that.’ I know very well, because I have done it myself. There is no message, but a staking of ownership, I was here. It’s out and out an egoist thing. Graffiti and street art are opposite sides of the spectrum, they clash, can’t go together. Graffiti is territorial, self-involved, an egotistic act, whereas street art is encompassing of humanity. Graffiti writers go mark their signature brutally on public property they don’t like. Street art is positive with an aesthetic element in it. Graffiti writers paint religiously in the streets, ‘illegally’; street artists seek permissions to paint. Two different worlds altogether.
JS: What is the role of art? What kind of art interests you? Do you feel a responsibility to society as an artist?
SS: Art dominates everything. Its main expressions are through design, music, visual art and dance. It exists in everything creative we do. Especially in India I see design, strong colour schemes. Art makes us human. I love all kinds of art. Especially if it’s raw and pure, yes, especially if it’s raw and pure, I like it very much.
Art plays a huge role in everyday life. Organisations send out their messages through the medium of art to sway opinions in their favour. There is huge responsibility in how you use your art, the kind of messages you want to give, especially in street art, which is accessible to the masses. It can evoke powerful feelings, negative as well as positive responses. One has to be clear about what you want to convey, it’s a big responsibility.
“I am a young man and I definitely have dark thoughts. It’s human to have good and dark thoughts. We don’t have any control over thoughts that pop into the mind, but once they are inside, we can choose how we digest them. ”
JS: There is enormous energy and light in your art practice. Do you feel inclined to explore dark energies in the human psyche?
SS: I am a young man and I definitely have dark thoughts. It’s human to have good and dark thoughts. We don’t have any control over thoughts that pop into the mind, but once they are inside, we can choose how we digest them. We can store them far off, in the dark recesses of our mind and never open them again. Some deserve to be there, shouldn’t ever be allowed in. On the other hand, you can use dark energy positively too, to motivate somebody, or it can be used to push through something. Sometimes you need to curse and charge, to break past egos, but always in moderation, keeping strong control of yourself.
JS: What is most important about FN Souza’s art legacy and how can it be carried forward?
SS: FN Souza was an ‘inspirational rebel,’ and his unabashedly expressive creative streak is unbeatable. He didn’t conform to what was considered art at that time, or to society. He became his own person, his own artist, he painted what he wanted to paint, for himself; though he often said he painted for angels, to make them see how real men and women looked like. He was fearless, and I am proud of him. He wasn’t ashamed of his work even when it was rejected and thrown back on his face. In spite of being expelled, he never changed the way he painted. He became more brutal, more savage, and his raw passion and power is so beautiful and I cherish it. Mostly we start conforming, going along with what’s the norm. Customs become law, but all customs are not correct and should not become law. He has inspired whole generations of Indian painters and artists all over the world. His brazenness was special, it defined him.
JS: What do you think of human sexuality? Is it a sin or celebration? Your granddad definitely thought of it as an elixir of life.
SS: It is the fundamental reason for existence. Souza is paying homage to human form and human nature in his paintings. Sometimes there are very grotesque and horrendous forms to see on his canvas. I see what he wants me to see. Sometimes he wants me to see a perfect form, other times he painted his subjects—men and women like animals, very beast-like, animalistic. Behind closed doors, we are animalistic, when we give free rein to our animalistic desires. In the throes of passion, humans are very animalistic. And lot of his work is a portrayal of that, the disgusting and the contemptible in human beings. Contemplating such works elicits contempt in the viewer for our humanimal nature. It makes us question ourselves, but when we see it on his canvas in such detail and emotion, we transcend it. We learn to control and choose what we want to do with our sexual energy. That’s where his work becomes spiritual. Here art becomes an agency to untie psychological knots resulting in lightness and complete freedom. Art is Freedom.
JS: You came to Goa to paint a mural of FN Souza. Where is it?
SS: I have initiated a mural of my grandfather on a high wall adjacent to the Panjim Church. I painted the face of four-year-old Newton, the age when he left Goa and at once belonged to himself first and to the world. I will be back to complete it.
Jugneeta Sudan is the Art Review Editor at JRLJ.
The image has been borrowed for fair-use non-commercial purposes from Solomon Souza’s public FB pages and is © Solomon Souza.