Beyond the visible: A painter’s subconscious landscape

In Tensing Joseph’s paintings, groceries, brushes and fish become portals to another reality

Sculptor and fine arts professor Tensing Joseph was awestruck when he first saw the original works of Belgian artist René Magritte in a Brussels museum a few years ago.  The way the master surrealist merged the barrier between the waking and dreaming worlds deeply resonated with Joseph. This encounter inspired him to embark on a series of his own artworks, exploring intimate objects and their hidden narratives.

Joseph’s recent collection of 100 paintings and drawings, titled ‘Between Objects and Myself’, delves into the subconscious realm where ordinary items transcend their mundane existence. From groceries and cleaning brushes to plants, fish, and cats, each piece becomes a window into unexpected meaning.

“It’s my attempt to articulate through paintings and drawings a relationship between intimate objects and myself in my daily life space,” Joseph explains. His work echoes Magritte’s philosophy of challenging perception, transforming familiar items into portals of deeper understanding.

“This series emerged from my subconscious contemplation of everyday life. Though we constantly interact with objects, we often overlook their identity. Their essence is revealed only when a painter, poet, or filmmaker captures them with all their texture, colour, and form. Each painting in this collection presents a unique concept and interpretation of intimate objects.”

Joseph further explains, “In my art, I strive to reflect the material culture of contemporary society. I hope that even my smallest works hold meaning in the context of home possessions, much like a study of material culture behind closed doors, as explored by Daniel Miller. Master painters have long depicted everyday objects, drawing inspiration from their surroundings.”

“I recreate the things I see. They are amalgamated in my mind and then come out in visual mode. These works reveal an artist’s intellectual connection with objects like sewing machines, pens, and leaves.”

A professor of sculpture at the College of Fine Arts in Thiruvananthapuram for over 25 years, Joseph had a rare opportunity to participate in a French residency programme in 2023, which had a profound influence on him. Visiting 20 museums, he encountered original works spanning from the early Renaissance to 21st-century avant-garde movements.

Reflecting on some of the most impactful works he encountered, he says, “Magritte painted the sky and the objects below, creating a unique tension between them. Michelangelo’s stone carvings are equally striking.

At the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel, I stood in awe, realizing that even with modern technology or artificial intelligence, we could never replicate the arrangement of figures and perspectives he achieved. He created an entirely different world. It was a profound visual lesson for me.”

Art critic M Ramachandran notes the distinctive quality of Joseph’s work: “Familiar objects are transformed, decontextualized, and reconfigured into an experiential field of meanings. His subtle application of light colours and evocative undertones turn the pictorial space into a matrix for fresh permutations and combinations of images.”

“The recurring motif of fish, for instance, appears in varied contexts. By presenting the same image in different settings, he engages in a creative dialogue that expands the viewer’s imagination,” he adds. Beyond his paintings, Joseph points to the lack of dedicated art museums in India.

“In Europe, schools take students to these museums as part of their curriculum. In India, the absence of such institutions means that art remains underappreciated.”

His solo exhibition, ‘Between Objects and Myself’ will be on display at David Hall Gallery Cafe, Fort Kochi, from Jan 27-31.