'Everyday life is beautiful': Meet self-taught Hyderabadi artist Moshe Dayan

A traffic jam at a junction in Hyderabad, dawn breaking through window curtains, a woman carrying a pot, a folk artist in a trance. These are the regular places, faces, objects and structures in which Moshe Dayan finds beauty and turns into art.

'And Trance Everywhere'  is the theme of Moshe's painting exhibition at Kalakriti Art Gallery Cafe in Hyderabad's Banjara Hills. The variations in light that the artist uses in his paintings impart a surreal feel to the ordinary and mundane. 

Moshe aspired to enter the Civil Services but he was interested in art since childhood. Hailing from Chinaganjam village of Chirala, a coastal block in Andhra's Prakasam district, Moshe did his studies in Ongole and earned a Master's degree in English Literature from Andhra University in Visakhapatanam.

 

"I was always interested in art since my childhood. I used to win all the school level and inter-school competitions. As I moved places for higher education and then started preparing for Civil Services, there was a sort of disconnect with art and painting. Though I didn't give up art completely, it was in 2011 after attending the interview for Civil Services, that I decided to come back to painting and pursue it with full passion," says Moshe.

 

Each of his works displays a brilliant use of colours in the composition and when coupled with the lighting, they stand out from the crowd. Moshe says, "I always believe colours are an important aspect of painting. Along with the other elements such as composition, framing, placing of light and tonal values according to the subject, the work's beauty gets elevated."

Moshe says that most of the time, art is all about change, "I don't copy the exact subject but rather refer to it. Most of my works come from normalcy and everyday life. I change the frame colour, mode and intensity of it with light."

 

'And Trance Everywhere' is his first solo exhibition. He's previously held a few exhibitions along with other artists. Moshe has also made creatives for several Telugu movies including Tharun Bhascker's Pelli Choopulu. He's also done covers and illustrations for books. 

Moshe does not have an academic background in Fine Arts and he believes that there's a lot of scope for young people to take up painting as a profession.

 

 "The situation is not as bleak as in the past, there are many digital and social media platforms to make one's work visible. Further, contemporary art is all about breaking the classical rules," he says.

Moshe, who has a keen eye for observing beauty in the unremarkable, has a unique take on success too. "I assume that the meanings for words like 'success' and 'failure' are unclear. When it comes to art, it is even more unclear. The highest success for any artist is when he can create art that can elevate him."

 

Moshe's art exhibition showcases over 30 watercolour paintings and is curated by Ruchi Sharma.The collection will be open for visitors till 21 October.