30/07/2011

'Tentacles' of Octopus Remi: Art in Metafiction

'Tentacles' of Octopus Remi: Art in Metafiction (Self-portrait) published on ARCHETYPES INDIA

Srishti – Mother Nature – has Plenty to share; Nothing for sell; Nothing to buy. That's 'Reunion with Mother Nature' – Srishtiyoga (SRISHTIYOGA July 7, 2011)

‘Tentacles’ | Remigius de Souza| 1987 | water colour on handmade paper

Octopus Paul one day suddenly came in limelight.

The cause? It predicted results of the international hockey tournament. That took the First World Nations by storm.

Twitter was crowded by some million twits.
That crowd blocked the site for few hours! Such a craze... blind faith! That too from so-called advance societies! Amazing!

A European nation was even ready to buy that animal.

'Tentacles', Remigius de Souza's self-portrait was published on Net, but none was moved. Not even his friends!

Remi generally does not look in to mirror. Because he notices 'octopus' in the mirror! What, then, could be his misery while wandering the streets of Mumbai metropolis?

He notices millions of people (his aborigine and peasant kinfolks) in the glass-clad multi-storied buildings mushrooming in the concrete jungle. But that never stops Mumbai!


Octopus Paul was a baby, lost to its community and natural environment. After a few months it died. Relieved!

Did anyone ask Octopus Paul before it died, "When this modern Industrial Civilization, which has become powerful within few centuries, will vanish?" We have not heard.

Oh, what do you ask!
The very strength of the powerful is their weakest point. There is a mythological Indian story of Bhasmasur that repeats again and again.

In reality the mighty industrial society has gone with the octopus.
 
In this self-portrait, 'Tentacles', Remi notices himself swallowing Natural Environment by his tentacles spreading and reaching across regions far and wide.

Call it is his misfortune, or call it his fate of unwanted share, or call it a ruthless criticism on Industrial Civilization.

Remi, however, laughs at himself at his cost.

Note. 1: As we write this post, there comes news about, Shuttle Atlantis docks with space station for last time! What a relief for the hungry masses of the world!! Better late than never!!!
2. Remi de Souza doesn’t watch cricket, hockey, football or such events as Olympics, World Cup etc. for he believes that any game must be played for leisure, and such mass events consolidate the centralized powers, and waste finite fossil energy.
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© Remigius de Souza., All rights reserves. Protected by Copyscape DMCA Copyright Protection

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