De Jesus: Shedding light on dark side of etching

Sun, 02/17/2008 1:16 PM | Arts & Design

Print artist Nicolas de Jesus is preoccupied with the effects of light on the world. Whether it comes from the white-hot sun, the crescent moon or a halogen search light from a hovering helicopter, light seeps into his golden-brown prints, colonizing the sky.

In intaglio prints, positive elements are produced from the inked recesses of an image, executed on a copper or zinc plate by engraving, scraping or scuffing its surface. The surfaces of De Jesus' prints are, therefore, like battlegrounds between dark and light.

The figures massed together in his prints are engaged in everyday tasks. They live their lives in shadows, far from the rays of the sun, in impenetrable valleys. Skeletons also lead a merry dance in de Jesus' works, as on the Mexican Day of the Dead, when the dead return temporarily to the earth.

Stripped bare, de Jesus says, everyone is the same -- Rich and poor, black and white.

He uses the skeleton as a symbol of our sameness.

De Jesus, born Dec. 6, 1960, in a destitute area of Mexico, is an earthy gentleman whose eyes dance with amusement as he listens, his hands politely clasped.

He was taught the art of printmaking by his father, who was murdered by a local leader when de Jesus was still a teenager.

De Jesus is particularly interested in popularizing art.

"I organize many workshops in the village, teaching people to make etchings ... without any help from the government," he laments.

"Graphic art (printmaking) is something that is good for the artist because it travels well, reaching a lot of people, and the artist can also keep their original work. Often artists sell their work and they don't get to keep anything," de Jesus said Monday afternoon at Ark Gallery.

In Mexico, at present, the government is about to give away an art prize, sparking debate over the division between "fine art" and "folk art".

"If you have money, if you are white, you have a bigger chance. But if you studied under your father, which was the norm during the great art era, the Renaissance, that cannot be art," de Jesus said.

He feels fortunate to be in Jakarta, away from the politics of his home country.

"I was selected to come here because of my art, not as a representative of Indian artists. But just because of my work," he said.

"Why can't they (Indian artists) be acknowledged in the category of fine art and not only as folk artists?"

-- Eilish Kidd

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