Mohan Naik, a renowned artist, whose exhibition 'Through the eyes of a goat' is underway at the Carpe Diem art gallery in South Goa, claims that his pastoral roots in the remote village of Ghodke, located around 55 km south of Panaji, were one of the reasons why the goat emerged as a consistent theme in his artwork.
"The Goa today is very different from the Goa of the past. If I see Goa through the eyes of my goats today, I would see a changed Goa. The rural scenes have changed. The green fields are vanishing rapidly and construction has increased. Goa has seen rapid change. Goats could roam and graze more freely earlier, but not anymore," Naik told IANS on Monday.
Naik claims he was attracted to the innocence of goats, which have now emerged as a consistent motif in his art, ever since he was a child growing up in a farmer's family in the Ghodkem hamlet.
"Having lived in the villages, even since I was a child, I have grown up with animals around me, be it cows, dogs or goats. They are like family to me. But the humble goat is the one animal that is of interest to me. I have observed this animal closely since I was a little boy. There is an element of innocence in a goat," he says.
In his fifties, Naik, who has participated in solo and group exhibitions in India and abroad, is known for his use of warm and mellow shades and uses oils and pastels to capture enduring snapshots of the quiet life in rural Goa and, of course, goats, with expressive human-like eyes.
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