INTERVIEW WITH VACO BAISSAC

I went on an interview with Vaco Baissac on the 30th January 2016 at Grand Bay. As I was
warmly welcomed by the famous artist of Mauritius, I was at ease to interview him. At first we
went into his house which really attracted me with all his artworks, which seems like in a
museum. Then my family and I went on his terrace where we were comfortably seated. Starting
my interview with him, I told him about my project and its theme. He then began with his
background history where I learnt many interesting things from him. As an elder person, he has
given me very good advices for my project as well as in life routine. Vaco also discussed about
his works namely ‘’ Le Dodo reve au soleil ’’ and ‘’ ‘’ which will appear in my project.

He asserts his inspiration of the Mauritian nation as he is a pure Mauritian. He wants to

represents Mauritian Island. As such he has been inspired by the evolution of the paintings
since cavemen. Picasso, Braque and Leonardo inspired him.

As such we talked about his style of painting. He said he was touched by the line of the vitrail
and its color. For him the 5 color of the vitrail represents the 5 community of Mauritius. For him
the colors represented the serenity, harmony of our island. For him honesty and good deeds
count. For him war has never brought anything good to the world.

His advice was very useful to me. Vaco said ‘’ we must not run before we walk,’’ that is we must
not hurry in anything, hard work counts. He said that only God is perfect. People will never
attain perfection. We must not be influenced by anything. For him we must give a child the
freedom to choose for himself. Vaco highlights that without an artist nothing exists.
The Flamboyant Tree
The Flamboyant, for Vaco, represents a big red stain on the beach. As he said, he has been
inspired by this beautiful tree as he had seen some artists draw the Flamboyant very small. Ha
wanted to represent the Flamboyant as a Mauritian symbol which forms part of its culture.
Moreover, he does not go to search for a scene, but it is the scenery which seeks for him; and
this is the way he draws his canvas.

The Dodo
Assuming of drawing the Dodo, Vaco Baissac said in his interview that it appeals to him that
drawing the dodo represents the whole Mauritius. Since 1760 his ancestors established on the
very island of Mauritius, so, in the context of this fact, Vaco has been inspired to draw
Mauritian island; such that its people, its animals, thee sun its culture and everything related to
his native island. When he was asked why he drew the Dodo, his answer was very logic; saying:
‘’everyone wanted to have a small dodo walking in his garden.’’ To his opinion everyone has a
little dodo inside himself. He asserts that the dodo was in Mauritius sine 3 million years.

His scenery

In the context of Vaco’s scenery, he attempts to do what is beautiful. For

example; during an interview with the latter, he reveals that the scenery, as such
the Tamarind Bay, has chosen him. So, he paints the Bay. Thus, apparently the
scenes and objects that he paints, call for him. Thereupon, his observation
reproduces his sensibility which represents his feelings and emotions. Now, he
has the tendency to more simplify his works as he grows older. He is always
inspired by every aspects of Mauritius. He paints only the life of the everyday
Mauritian. We can see simple person doing simple things, such as fishermen,
ladies doing household or carrying vases, baskets of fruits and so on. We can also
see the endemic plants and animals in each and every of his painting. This side
could have been influenced by his father who was also an artist, painting species
of the fauna and flora of Mauritius years ago. He got also influenced by Malcolm
de Chazal, who was his teacher and a close friend of him.
 VACO BAISSAC WORK ANALYSIS

The Dodo Dreams in the Sun

In the first artwork of Vaco Baissac entitled “The Dodo Dream in the Sun”, Size,the
principle character is the Dodo. As we can see, Vaco’s work is in stylized form. It
shows proudly the DODO, standing and as if watching the viewer. The Dodo is
accompanied by the typical fauna and flora of Mauritius. Our colourful fishes and
a symbolic dove to balance the colours. The mangoes rightly shaped shows the
freshness and the beauty of fruits obtained here and the coconut trees and their
fruit show green vegetation and invites us to taste that particular drink. Apart
from these, we can depict the bright sun of the tropical island with shades to
show the vividness in the sun, full of energy. Moreover, Vaco displays, in almost
all his works, our colourful sea, reflecting the turquoise of it. The whole brings to
us a nice composition of our island of yesterday and today’s life. The support is
quite different on what he usually paints. Here, we can see strips of woods,
mounted in a square layout. He used acrylic paints as he can get the bright
colours and some textured effect out of it. The work looks easy to realize, but
behind it, there is all the process of thinking and composition. Besides, there is
the colour palette which is as tough as the drawing of the features.