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Splashing colours of success factfile

PHOTO: S. JAMES

DIFFERENT STROKES Scaling great heights

Painters are not rare for Madurai. From a decent bunch of talented artists, who have etched their names in higher echelons, M.G.Raffic Ahamed is unique. For, he is the only internationally acclaimed collage artist in town.

When he invited me over to his house for the weekend interview, I thought finding my way would be easy. But nay, it was just the reverse. After numerous enquiries I finally knocked on his door wondering how he has managed to keep such a low profile.

As though he reads my mind, he responds: “It is not deliberate. Sometimes it happens like that. I do yearn for recognition as a painter from my neighbours. When my buyers abroad appreciate and acknowledge my work, it sometimes does worry me as to why those around me here fail to take note of my work.”

Hailing from a well known traditional and rich Adham Shah family, which was awarded the title of ‘Sowcar’ by the British for its liberal donations to the Meenakshi Amman Temple, painting ran deep in Raffic from his childhood.

“I still remember the days when I heard supernatural and other fictitious stories about how our family became rich. I was groomed under a mythical backdrop and those mythical elements still get reflected in my paintings,” says the 48-year-old painter.

“I use art as a tool to nurture aesthetic sense of the spectator. It is my belief that sustained exposure to such art will one day change the mindset of people and lead them to contribute their might to the society.” – The unassuming painter reveals his socially responsible side.

Being a lefthander, he was the only odd person out in his friend’s circle and mostly kept on the sidelines. Left with enough spare time, he used to join his grandmother, a zardosi work expert. “I always had this feeling of achieving something and coming into limelight. My grandmother nurtured my interest in art. She was very artistic and patient and I learnt my art from her,” he shares.

An inquisitive creator that he is, painting a pot or a tree did not attract him during school days. “My drawing master taught me to draw a pot, literally dousing my creative ability and I faithfully did that wherever I went for drawing competitions. Once I realised the monotony and staleness, I started creating my own paintings at home. My father also encouraged my artistic talent,” he says with gratitude.

None of his elder or younger siblings are into his terrain. “Though they have not developed interest in painting, they do appreciate my work. In fact, after years recently I got a gift from one of my sisters, which was a drawing I did during my school days. It was so refreshing to see one of your unbridled work of art done at a young age,” his eyes widen.

Being original is Raffic’s forte. He has never been to any art college to learn the nuances in painting. “It is a blessing in disguise. In fact, some of my artist friends advised me against joining any art school. For, they believed that my thinking would be channellised, whereas self-taught will be more open” he says.

His interest in photography and failure to continue college studies helped him enter Kollywood as an assistant cameraman. “I entered filmdom inspired by Mahendran’s “Uthiri Pookal” with a fond hope of stamping my presence. But that was the time when films like “Mullum Malarum” gave way to those like “Murattu Kaalai”. Disillusioned, I returned to my comfortable world of painting. While I was in Chennai, I frequented the American library and learnt a lot about painting techniques,” he narrates.

It was his tryst with Thottatharani’s small collage work displayed as part of the “Ulaga Tamil Maanadu” (World Tamil Conference) in 1982 that proved a turning point. It turned Raffic’s focus on collage art. “Till that time, I was into classical painting only. Once, I realised the magic of collage, I started doing it simultaneously,” he spells out the change in his outlook.

He opened Raffic Arts Gallery in an attempt to get more contacts. “That was the time when art movement was very active in the State. I was able to attract big artists to my gallery and my profile grew with that. At that time collage was never considered to be an art at all. Many experts considered it to be a child’s play. Only when my collage on “Mottai Gopuram” got selected for an award by the Lalit Kala Akademi in 1987, people turned their eyes on me,” he beams.

His growing prominence brought him in contact with intellectual groups. Lacking in formal training, Raffic never takes a break from updating himself. He uses mixed media in collage work and is also an expert in ‘assembly art’, a growing fad in the Western countries. “I collect antique pieces like machineries of a wall clock and assemble them in such a way that it looks like an art. It has become a rage among westerners. Besides, I also work on collages using the photoshop to make digital art,” he oozes enthusiasm.

Interested in photography, Raffic mostly uses photographs taken by him for his collage work. Attributing his success to family, he says: “Behind the success of every man there is a woman. In my case it is my wife. I was not employed when I got married and till now I am not a salaried person. Throughout my life, she has been a pillar of strength to me. My son Ameen Ibrahim, a software engineer and daughter Azra Rumana, a B.D.S. student, too are my motivating factors.”

Both his children are interested in painting while his son is also an avid photographer. In fact, the passion for art in the family is such that the father and daughter communicate pictorially whenever they are out of the city.

He frames his painting style as “Magical realism”. “It is all in the stream of consciousness. I have read a lot of Latin American stories. It will be realism basically and deviates into the world of fantasy at one point of time. It is mostly figurative and symbolic. Only those who can delve deep into it can understand. I wanted to leave such works for the next generation,” he says and loves to work during night hours without any disturbance.

Though he is known well in the foreign countries through his paintings he does not have any plans of leaving the Temple City. “I love this place. It feeds me with enough substance for my works. I always wanted to be associated with Madurai but known internationally,” says Raffic, who is also a correspondent of a matriculation school.

“My happiest moment will be the day when I get appreciated by a person next door,” he signs off.

FACTFILE

He is one among the few Asians to be honoured by the prestigious The Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York.

Has participated in more than 80 art exhibitions including seven in foreign countries.

Has conducted 10 one man shows.

Has received Tamil Nadu Lalit Kala Akademi Award; Tamil Nadu Arts and Crafts Improvement Award; Mahaloksha Kala Parishad Certificate of Merit, Rajpur.

His collections are displayed within the country and abroad. Most of his customers are from the U.S.

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