Sijin Gopinathan before his Save the Nature artwork.

Muhammad Yusuf, Features Writer

Dubai-based artist Sijin Gopinathan’s art series called Save the Nature is aimed at raising awareness about environmental issues threatening the planet and will be displayed at World Art Dubai (Mar. 16 – 19).

The doodle art project will be done live, to inspire the world at the fair at the Dubai World Trade Center, when he is also launching his NFT Art website, www.doodlerockstar.shop. Save the Nature deals with, among other things, deforestation and animal extinction, massive bird mortality and water pollution. “According to studies,” says Gopinathan, “we lose around 137 species of plants, animals, and insects every day due to deforestation. “100 million marine animals die from plastic waste every year and 100,000 marine animals die from getting entangled in plastic every year.”

Gopinathan says that art has the ability to transform people by blending imagination and reality in ways that directly affect the way they think and live.

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“Art can help people feel for the world, which can inspire thinking, engagement, and also action. Many people have realised that artworks can result in motivated action. With my art, I intend to change people into acting positively. “My style is a fusion of doodle art and realistic painting. I call it Oodle Art.”

Doodles are simple drawings that can have concrete representational meaning or may just be composed of random and abstract lines. Doodling and scribbling are most often associated with young children and toddlers; despite this, it is not uncommon to see such behaviour in adults — in which case, it is generally done jovially or out of boredom. Doodles have also been elaborated and elevated into an art form.

Gopinathan is among the new generation of artists who combine art and technology. Technology makes art boundless, he says. It enhances creativity.

  A composition titled The Wild.

He indicates that his style of working is somewhat different from what is considered normal. “I use a lot of media for my work, which includes virtual reality, augmented reality, neon paint, conductive ink painting, 3D mapping and robotic collaboration. He believes he thinks in the new generation manner when it comes to art, as he wants it to be futuristic. He recently hit the headlines by making artwork with a brand new Mercedes car as a medium, during Expo 2020 Dubai.

The large mural he created on the car included a combo picture of the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and the Crown Prince of Dubai, Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. It was a one-of-a-kind art event held for the first time in the GCC region, and received good response from artists and art lovers. “Art is what reflects a viewpoint through chosen colours,” Gopinathan says. “I use the creative medium as a catalyst to uncover the true self.” His relationship with creativity started at a very young age, when he was inspired by art stalwarts such as Raja Ravi Varma and MF Husain. Varma was an Indian painter and artist whose works are one of the best examples of the fusion of European academic art with a purely Indian sensibility and iconography. Husain was also an Indian artist known for executing bold, vibrantly coloured narrative paintings in a modified Cubist style. He was one of the most celebrated and internationally recognised Indian artists of the 20th century. “An artist,” says Gopinathan, “is always in a struggle with perfection, and only after learning how to cope with the nuances of perfection, one becomes an artist.

“I chose this profession because it gives me the power to generate unlimited ideas and possibilities. Making art is always like coming home to your creative soul!” He specialises in instilling real life into fantasy; he is a multi-disciplined professional with a hands-on history in UI or User Interface designing, illustrating, painting and photography. (User Interface designing is the process of creating interfaces that are aesthetically pleasing in machines and software such as computers, home appliances and mobile devices). Content & Translation Specialist Ahmad Abu Tarboush has commented that “Sijin Gopinathan is the epitome of PASSION!! Injecting passion into all that he does; passion for life, passion for the community and Art …”

Gopinathan was born in Venjaramoodu, a suburb of Thiruvananthapuram city in Kerala State, India. Arriving in Dubai in 2013 as a web designer, he got the opportunity to bond with artists from across the world — it helped him explore his creative side. He incorporated his skills in mural drawings — to which he was drawn early on — into doodle, a popular art form among youngsters, then as now. The blending of doodles and murals rendered the latter livelier and more attractive.

Gopinathan’s pet themes include cultural diversity, women empowerment and environment protection: but anything that catches his attention, turns into a theme. He conducts workshops for children and aspiring doodlers in Dubai and has worked with Knowledge and Human Development Authority and Dubai Health Authority, among other institutions. He was also the first artist in the GCC region to conduct a live mural show with a robot, much to the delight of Gitex Technology Week in Dubai in 2018. In 2018, he participated in World Art Dubai and was honoured as the Doodle Marathon’s opening day artist. He has worked on web and art projects in the UAE, United States and New Zealand.