I had the chance to interview Australia-based artist Boben Mammen, who uses his art to express his state of mind which portrays his personal evolution in life and work.

Tell me about your journey into art.

Looking back, there was not a distinctive day or a certain pivotal moment in life which awoke the art in me. It was a process of evolution and exploration; the deeper I looked within, the more I learnt about the world around me. Through each phase, my understanding of the world and my frame of mind translated into colors and forms. Yet, my paintings still are a window into everything I hold close; from the most vibrant shade of green during my childhood to the vast wilderness of Australia, I have experienced in my recent past.

Born in the southern-most state of India, Kerala, I was planted amidst the most serene of natural settings. Though I realized that in its full splendor, only much later when I had to migrate for work. Even during my childhood, I was taken to how the beautiful landscapes were translated into art and then put to print, admiring illustrations from local magazines for hours and even saving some to savour for later. My inclination towards art was not met with much enthusiasm by my practical parents back then, due to their sheer concern for my future. But my conviction set my course for a college degree in Fine Arts. In my own time I took up interest in illustration, manual printing and photography. I even took up a job teaching art, when encouraged by my father, I ventured into advertising. I migrated to the city of Bangalore, within India, to pursue a career in a leading advertising agency as a visualizer.

***Artwork from the Emotional Beasts series by Boben Mammen***

It was without my own knowledge, a plan was set in motion for my migration to the Middle-East; which was a common phenomenon in Kerala back then. Initially I worked in signage, with exposure to international brands and publications my world view was expanding. However those two years were emotionally famishing and I coped with it by picking up a brush and dipping it in the colours of my nostalgia. Eventually I shifted back to Advertising and in the next two decades I worked in several of the Arab countries. While equipping myself with a multitude of technologies in illustration and visualization, I also travelled extensively in these countries meeting people who fell into both the ends of the spectrum of humanity. In these two decades I contently climbed up the corporate ladder to become a corporate art director, leading a life of success and luxury. By then I had overcome a sense of insecurity and had started to firmly believe in my skills as well as my ability to work hard. This faith combined with our desire for a well-rounded education for my children led to the decision of migrating to Australia.

I was extremely positive about my professional future here, in spite of the initial hick-ups. I decided to focus on my art. It was with impeccable discipline and great passion I translated all my inner conflicts and contemplations into paintings.

I have persisted in my art for thirty five years of my life. Among those years, I have dedicated my life in its entirety to art during the past three years. As an artist I have created both realistic as well as surrealistic paintings, though the medium of oil painting, acrylic, water colours as well as ink illustrations. I relish creating realistic paintings, and also enjoy watching other artists’ realistic art. Over my long career of Advertising, illustrations and photography have captured a significant part of my imagination. This process of framing a particular moment in life, thus preserving it for eternity, has always appealed to me! Over the years, my art has reflected my state of mind, without having consciously to express my inner-conflicts.

What ideas are you exploring in your work?

During the two decades I worked in the Arab countries, I travelled extensively. I experienced the extremes of humankind, shedding light on the beauty of religious conviction as well as the destructive power of intolerance, co-existing side by side. This insight still has an inherent influence over my work.

Over the years, my art has reflected my state of mind, without having consciously to express my inner-conflicts. As I have battled financial as well as emotional issues, estrangement and solitude over my lifetime, I have drawn considerable strength through my mental toughness, spirituality and my humble origins from a village in Kerala. I intend to continue channeling these on to my paintings and hope to portray my evolution as a person in my work.

With time I have reached a space where I can essentially observe my past from an outsider perspective, helping me gauge the shifts in my beliefs and emotional evolution more objectively. I have been able to grasp how the ups and downs of lives define our personality, as my own view of my life turned more subtle and accepting. As I travel deeper into these planes of human behavior and perceive the meaning of my personal battles, I reach for my brush voluntarily as words can express only so much!

Beyond my own life, I draw inspirations from several artists. Pablo Picasso’s success as an artist, the sheer reach of his art, has always influenced me positively. The self-inflicted exile and how Gustav Klimt translated that into his art, attributing a magical glimmer to his paintings always enthralled me. Van Gogh persisted in spite of all his mental struggles and continued painting, even though his art wasn’t appreciated during his lifetime. Because art played such a significant role in his being, he needed no other reason to keep painting. Caravaggio, with his mental conflicts and in such a short life span, managed to capture emotions in his paintings with the dramatic use of black and other dark hues. This has resonated with me deeply. I hold Lucian Freud’s paintings in high regard, for his assortment of non-traditional models and his distinctive portrayal. But the one artist who has influenced me beyond the rest, is Paul Gauguin. I draw inspiration from how he dedicated himself utterly and willingly threw himself into a life of struggle for his art, after a life of luxury. Even though he had lived in Paris, the art capital of the world at the time, he embraced his move to Tahiti. He even lived with the native tribe there to observe and absorb the authentic flavours, which in turn led him to craft his own style of painting. His unique flair, influenced by his profound spirituality is reflected in his art.

Can you talk a bit about the evolution of your practice and your work?

The idea behind each of my work takes shape in the depths of my imagination. I carry it within me like a story, until it slowly evolves into form and colours in my head before I etch it on a canvas. This has been my process from the time I can recall. I believe it might be attributed to the time I spent working in the Advertising industry from the beginning of my career. Back then, while working on any campaign even after leaving the office space, the work occupies a part of my mind. My brain used to constantly play with the ideas, until clarity emerged. This has had an impact on how I practice my art till now. To this day, any work of mine has come to be, only after it has occupied my mind-space for a considerable amount of time; until eventually it evolves into shapes and shades through the brush strokes and paint.

What is your artistic process?

Major process of my work begins and progresses within my head. I do create basic illustrations of the ideas and then explore further. My ensuing research constitutes exploring numerous sources of materials, including those online. With an abundance of talent readily accessible at my fingertips, it’s beyond inspiring; it supplies an immense reserve of energy for me to keep working and thus continue learning. I find experimenting with different techniques, patterns and even mediums quite exciting. For instance, I keep switching from acrylic to oil painting and realistic to abstract style of work often. My focus lies on translating an emotion into art irrespective of the method or the technique I follow; as I am less keen towards building a legacy for a particular style of work.

What is the most memorable thing someone has said about your work?

It gives me immense pleasure to say that a few people have appreciated my work for how deeply it moved them and how the paintings capture the essence of an emotion. What makes those remarks even more memorable is that they had visited to see the paintings after I sent the digital samples; and they were pleasantly surprised by how much more live and poignant the paintings are to the naked eye than when viewed as a digital image.

What are you working towards?

At the moment, I am working on and extremely excited about a couple of types of collections. One that I commenced most recently is about exploring the relationship between human beings and furniture. Another collection, known as ‘Emotional Beast’ fills me up with so much life that even though I have created only six paintings so far, I have conceived ideas, fashioned basic illustrations as well as carried out necessary research for close to sixty more already. There is no dearth for subjects or energy, neither any uncertainty about what to create when it comes to my art. I just need to make more time to translate these into reality.

How many pieces do you have on the go at a time?

Usually I have anywhere between ten to fifteen paintings in my studio at any given time. Often, a few paintings linger longer at my studio when I am not yet willing to let go of those; as they are thus far lacking the level of completion and perfection, I had envisioned for those. Most times I work on about five paintings simultaneously, especially since I do oil paintings, to ensure no time is lost in the duration needed for some of the paintings to dry. Thus I work on multiple paintings simultaneously and it is part of my process.

Boben Mammen

Baljit Balrow

Dimitra Bouritsa