Hyderabadi artist on a mission to spread ‘Ahimsaism’

Colours, he says, are the best way to draw attention towards a cause.

“Words do have an impact but sometimes a picture speaks a thousand words. When red is splashed all over the canvas to show blood, the intensity of the colour hits you,” feels Joseph.

A self-taught painter, Joseph is credited with developing a new form of art, India’s Ahimsaism.

“I have always believed in the doctrine of non-violence, which was the main catalyst in our freedom struggle. My paintings are a way to further the message of Mahatma Gandhi,” says Joseph.

Elaborating on this new art form, Joseph says that Ahimsaism follows the five principles of Jainism. “Anybody who takes up this form of painting has to follow certain rules like having complete vegetarian food. Working on the same doctrine, instead of using a brush for painting, we use a Pilate knife. This is to promote vegetarianism,” he says.

A remarkable feature of his paintings is that he uses both oil as well as acrylic paints. “While the oil paint takes about two months to dry up, acrylic paints take five minutes. The concept behind this is that when two different colours can form part of a painting, various societies too can exist under one roof,” explains Joseph.