Many studies indicate that creative self-expression and exposure to the arts have wide ranging effects on not only cognitive and psychological health, but also physical conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, various forms of dementia and impacts of anxiety. Children and adults with mental health issues are directed to art therapists to help them overcome traumas and discuss problems without having to use words. This vocal silence and creative expression made through art therapy is very effective and success stories can be found across psychology. However, creative expression doesn’t have to be used at the tipping point; creativity is increasingly being interwoven into people’s lives to help maintain a healthy mind, body and soul.
Joy and happiness can be created through expressing ourselves via art. The Ancient Futures : NewEarth Festival is one of the leading festivals that is celebrating and engaging this positive relationship. Set in Bali outside of Ubud, this forward thinking festival brings a range of speakers, artists and musicians together to integrate a variety of these artistic forms. During the evening performances there will be live painting, street art and visionary exhibitions all attempting to help us explore different levels of our emotions. Local Balinese textiles and craft works will also be featured as part of the street markets, to help broaden our knowledge of cultural arts and expression.
We speak to Pan Trinity Das, our Street Artist for the festival, who has been experimenting in landscape, psychedelic, portraiture, and abstract art for the past ten years. Pan hits the night streets in countries all over the world, and leaves behind a message that conveys beauty, social commentary, and respect for local culture. Pans affection for activism has led him to ongoing work with NGO’s like Waste Warriors (India) and Bali Life Orphanage (Bali).
Hi Pan, thanks for your time today, how did you first get into street art and how has your art and focus developed over the years?
I first got into street art in 2012 after watching this film Exit Through the Gift Shop, which is of course the Banksy street art documentary. Soon after I saw it I basically had the realization that we can do this, you know we can branch out into the street and affect our local environments and just be a part of the conversation. So I guess at that point what changed was like I was always a painter always working on canvas getting my thoughts out that way but what developed over the years was this addiction to wall art, murals and street art and having an effect like I said in the local environment. And now five years later I’m looking at what I’m putting out there and I feel like I’ve just gotten a little bit better at communicating the messages that I want to put on each of the walls, it’s a little but more smooth and more universal. It’s been a really fun process to watch.
Your artwork has a great and often pertinent message behind it, is there a driving theme that encompasses this?
I don’t know I feel that’s a tough question because my art reflects me, not necessarily just my ideals. So just like any other person I have a million different ideas and a million different feelings throughout the day. I guess the overarching theme is that I am the artist and these are my thoughts so I think I would like to stick with that as my answer just because I don’t want to be type cast as an artist that is always going to put up the same kind of message and that you’re always going to see the same thing from him because that just doesn’t interest me. So I mean you might get love one day and you might get something else the next. I just don’t know…
Creative expression through art is helping many people overcome emotional traumas in their lives and help them to regain balance. How do channel your emotions through your artwork when there is also a political or informative message behind it?
{It’s just a median} For me I don’t need to paint in any kind of mood – a lot of artists are emotionally driven. Just the time that I spend painting I feel is really elevated in some way for me. Like no matter if I’m painting something political or something commercial or something in the street it doesn’t matter I just really love the process. So how do you channel your emotions through your artwork? Without repeating myself I just feel like basically you’re just doing your thing and emotions arise there’s nothing you can really do about that and you just keep focused at the task at hand and maybe your mind will come to some sort of resolution because what you’re doing takes you into meditative or possibly elevated space I really love those depths of emotion that come up while you’re painting it’s such a private kind of practice in that way you know even if you’re on stage doing it in front of people or whatever it’s always beautiful like that.
You are really living your life through your passion which is fantastic to see. What are the best and most challenging things about being a travelling artist?
Well, the best thing about my life is I’d say is that I have freedom. I chose at a really young age to just basically reject the prescribed idea of living which was I guess go to school, get a job get married and all that. I really fought that from day one and so I’ve really only had one or two jobs the rest I just preferred to be broke and paint the whole time. So I do think that freedom is definitely, probably the greatest thing about my life! Also I love the ability to completely focus and possibly even over develop in one area of life like art. Because it becomes kind of like a super power in a way where I look around everywhere and see so much potential. Like overdeveloped seems to be the word..interestingly…I’m just totally obsessed!
The most challenging … I don’t know because I’m really trying to change my belief system about things that have happened to me in the past you know if they were negative maybe they served their purpose maybe I’m not trying to manifest those things anymore. So I could say maybe it’s like trying to track down money but I’d also say to that that I’m not longer attracting clients that are gonna be a hassle to get money from, forget that! I’m really just trying to do good work with good people right now. It’s really exciting the collaborative projects on the horizon.
What can we expect to see from you in the future and with the shift in consciousness and the political sphere how do you think this will impact your art?
I really don’t find a lot of inspiration in the so called shift of consciousness that’s happening right now or political sphere. I think no matter what day in age that I was born in I would probably still paint the same thing. Even still over the last …I don’t know decade since I started with this theme that I’ve been working on, I mean political climates have shifted everything’s changed in one way or another but I’m still only interested in the same thing. So I think no matter what happens it’s always gonna be my vibe that I’m going out with. If anything maybe it just means that if there is some kind of shift in consciousness it might just mean that people will start to understand the work that I’m doing a little bit better.
Originally posted @
