Mosaic art exhibition at David Hall

Joseph EM was always fascinated by the mosaic artwork that he saw in Middle Eastern structures and was also interested in the work of a church artist named Balan, whose mosaic iconography could be seen in churches in South India. Joseph, who was an English schoolteacher, mentored under him briefly and has gone on to be commissioned by churches in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka.
Now, through an exhibition at David Hall in Fort Kochi, curated by his daughter Elizabeth Pranitha Joseph and her business partner Steve Edward Correya, they are hoping to take this rarely seen artistry outside the ambit of the church. “The traditional mural art is now fairly popular outside temples, and we wish to do the same with mosaic art, which can adorn homes and resorts, for example. We wish to give the artists doing this a bigger platform to sustain themselves,” says Elizabeth. The artists have received some private commissions, which have required them to work with ‘out of the box’ images.

“We are making works that will appeal to a wider audience and incorporates the local ethos as well. We have created a kathakali performer and a portrait of a couple as an engagement present,” says Joseph, who has done mosaic art for about 40 churches, with his biggest work being a 600sq ft image of the saint Don Bosco for a school. The exhibition at David Hall, with 20 works of six artists, showcases mosaic art of the traditional Indian female form, a stunningly vibrant elephant among other things.
What is the biggest challenge in producing mosaic art? “It can be time consuming,” says exhibiting artist Sajeev AT. “The real challenge is that the glass mosaic tiles do not offer the range of colours that paints do, so we have to do techniques like shading with limited resources. But, in a way, that is also the satisfaction and the beauty that this art gives.”