Guyanese “surreal” artist Kyle Rahaman always had an“interest in creative things”. He views art as a medium of dealing with anxiety and deterrence from “interesting vices”.
“Art is partly an expression of subconscious thought that otherwise would never come out. For me, having access to an art room in high school was inspiration enough. I also had a great art teacher, Ravi Doodnaugth, who encouraged me.I have always been drawn to things that arouse emotions – which I find ironic since I have been told I have the emotional capacity of a rock,” Kyle revealed in an interview with Sunday Times Magazine.
In 2006, Kyle studied visual arts for CXC through Marian Academy. Since then, he was not involved in any art related activities until last year when he entered the Tenth National Biennial Drawing Competition. His pieces from the competition were displayed at Castellani House (National Art Gallery), located on Vlissengen Road. Some of his artworks were also displayed at past events held at Umana Yana.
“I had to re-teach myself some things and figure out mediums I have never used, like water colour. Since I was never very good at painting, it took more than a little brushing up upon my painting to get the hang of it – though I am still not satisfied with my skill with it,” he admitted.
Kyle pointed out that he draws inspiration from people he meets or just seeing something interesting on the road or reading books. Recently, he read a few of Howard Phillips Lovecraft’s (an American author who achieved posthumous fame through his influential works of horror) fiction stories and plans on painting“something creepy soon”.
“Often times, just sitting and doing a bit of introspection I can grab an idea from whatever I dredge up from my subconscious. Depending on the piece, I communicate something in my mind that is dark, maybe depressing and a bit too blurry to explain in words. Sometimes it is just something random and I am not trying to communicate a darn thing, but people will find their own meaning,” he disclosed.
The artist has done sculpting with clay and metal in the past, but due to his work space being “too cluttered”, Kyle is hesitant to resume using those art media. His preferred medium at the moment is charcoal.
“I have done portraits and landscapes for practice. But what I enjoy doing the most is weird, surreal art. I am also a fan of gothic, geometric and dark illustrations. Art is just a hobby right now. I have considered making a fulltime commitment, but for now I am splitting my energies between a few different things. However, as more people get to know I paint they will make requests to recreate a piece they like or do something entirely different or the usual portrait requests, so I will be back to my canvas,” Kyle explained.
Encouraging young artists, Kyle recommends “knowing some theory, how to use warm/cold colours, gradients, knowing your materials, and experimenting with different things”.
“There is a lot of info online on techniques and tools.Being frustrated and overly critical of yourself is natural I think. Get used to not liking your own work sometimes – or a lot of times. There’s a window of opportunity between inspiration and motivation – find it and live there,” Kyle expressed.
