As Socrates said, ‘An unexamined life is not worth living.’ The art exhibition organized to celebrate the birthday of St. Francis Xavier on April 7, 2025, at St. Francis Xavier Church, Borim, is a step towards examining our lives.
In today’s world, where machines can produce perfect copies, art must go beyond representation. When the original is lost in copies and AI-generated art mimics human creativity, art that portrays human experience becomes a contestation of Platonic mimesis. Instead, art brings us the sublime, as Hegel would say.
Art doesn’t just copy reality; it opens us up to the surplus, the excess that we can only describe as the abundance of life. This fuller life is captured, without being captured, by our art practices.
As humans, we embody love, care, and hope in our lives. These practices become institutionalized in culture, faith, and technology. Art sublimates this abundance of life, allowing us to immerse ourselves in it.
Goans, like all humans, live embodied lives. This embodied life is reflected in Goan culture. Within this exuberant and abundant culture, Goans have ‘goanized’ themselves and Goa through practices that embody Goan-ness.
St. Francis Xavier, affectionately called ‘Goycho Saib,’ occupies a pivotal place in Goa’s dynamic unfolding. Goans have embodied their hopes, dreams, and aspirations around the saint. The presence of his sacred relics in Goa has led Goans to regard him as the protector of Goa and its people.
This embodied fidelity finds articulation in our words, rituals, music, and paintings. The Parishioners of St. Francis Xavier Church, Borim, have organized an art exhibition that puts these intimacies into paintings, turning them into extimacies.
This effort cannot exhaust these embodied intimacies, but it’s a beginning. The exhibition features 20 professional artists and 13 budding artists, curated by Raymond Pereira. It will remain open for viewing for seven days and then travel to other locations.
I hope you can join us in celebrating the abundance of life through art!”
