Crippled Artist

Often Paints

With Brush

In Mouth

From BERYL CATES in Suva SEMISI MAYA, the Fijian artist, whose work has just been acclaimed in London, is an ex leper, who, although cured of the disease, is so crippled that he can scarcely hold a brush.

His fingers are so deformed that he is unable to do up a button, and if he drops a brush or a paper, he has to rely on someone to pick it up for him.

A tall, shy man of 50, Semisi comes from the chiefly island of Bau where he was educated at the district school. Later he worked with the other young men of his village, in the plantations, fishing or house-building until 1938 when it was discovered that he had leprosy.

For 14 years he lived at the leprosarium at Makogai Island, confined to the hospital ward with the old, the blind and the very ill. Other male patients, able to move about, lived in villages surrounding the hospital area, able to play sport, tend plantations, fish and enjoy all island forms of entertainment.

Semisi could do none of these things because his arms were already wasted from what some doctors say was an earlier, un diagnosed case of polio, and leprosy had the effect of contract ing his fingers towards the palms.

Undiagnosed polio

When Semisi left Makogai, his leprosy cured, he was so deformed that he had to fight continually against despondency.

Although, he returned to his village, he had to spend a great deal of time at St. Elizabeth’s Home for the rehabilitation of lepers on the outskirts of Suva.

The home is staffed by nuns of the Society of Mary.

Semisi now lives there per manently.

The nuns, with infinite care and

patience, gradually gave him the courage to start living again.

One of the nuns, who is in terested in art and who has had some art training, showed Semisi the rudiments of finger painting with the object, perhaps, of intro ducing him to an interest which would be, at the same time, occupational therapy.

The nun coached the crippled artist until now she says, “He has gone completely beyond me. The amazing style he has developed is entirely his own.

Different

“We now make his paints, using a starch base, and we apply fixatives after he has completed his paintings. Beyond that, all Semisi’s work is his own.”

Semisi’s style is decidely dif ferent from any other artist’s, and would defy a copyist. So also are the means he uses to achieve it.

He works with his fingers, with a brush held in his mouth, and with anything else that will help him get the effect he desires. He even uses the hairs on his arms at times.

His style is slightly abstract, but his rhythmic lines and beautiful colours show up clearly as land scapes and underwater scenes.

He has a strong liking for religious subjects and his Madonnas are always Fijians.

Semisi, however, is a Methodist who regularly attends the Methodist services held at St.

Elizabeth’s Home.

In the past, the nuns at the home believed in making Semisi’s works available to everyone despite their means, and his water colours were sold for £1 each.

Part of this sum went to the Home for Semisi’s upkeep; the rest went to Semisi, himself.

Hundreds of his early paintings are now in private homes and art collections all over the world. One painting was on display at the New York World Fair; and a number have been shown on tele vision.

Several times the nuns were advised to raise the price of the paintings on the ground that they were cheapening the artist’s work.

Now it looks as if the matter is out of their hands.

At least, examples of his work are not obtainable in Suva at present.