COVID-19 led Khishan Singh to discover his knack for painting

By Lakhram Bhagirat

“After being sent home from University last March due to the coronavirus, my sister and I had to find a way to pass the time being locked up at home, so we decided to give painting a try. With a pandemic going on, it not only brought me peace but also reminded me that although I cannot control what is going on out there, I haven’t entirely lost that control over my life and happiness,” young Khishan Singh told the Sunday Times
The 19-year-old business executive is one of the many people who discovered that they had a knack for being creative during the COVID-19 imposed restrictions over the last year. For him, he started with just one canvas but as time progressed it morphed into 40 with 1-3 paintings per day.
It is a feat that would have seasoned artists questioning the quality of his work but for Singh, it is about being lost in a world where he can play with colours and create something that channels how he was feeling exactly.
Essentially, brushstrokes became words and his art was pieces of poetry he could have never found words to express.
Singh currently works as the Business Development Director at Gaico Construction and General Services Inc.
Singh’s childhood was spent closely with his family. They were on the cusp of building a business and it meant all hands on deck. He is extremely close with his sister so while he was a Fourth Form student at The Bishops’ High School and his sister was leaving for college overseas, Singh decided he wanted to join her there as well.
“Bishops’ set my foundation for what I did after and I couldn’t be happier with it. But when my sister left Guyana at the start of Fourth Form, I decided I’m not waiting. So I wrote a few Cambridge IGCSE (in addition to my math and English CSEC exams from Third Form) privately and applied to St George’s University in Grenada in 2017. 4 years later now I am about to graduate with my Bachelor’s in Accounting/Finance and Business Management and am currently applying to do my Masters of Science in Finance,” he said.
In December last year, Singh collaborated with a group of young creatives and they hosted the Heart Through Art Exhibition at the School of the Nations. It was the exposure he and the other young creatives needed in the middle of a public health pandemic when the entire world was losing hope.
“Many foreigners also attended the ‘Heart Through Art’ exhibition last December and what was shocking was the amount of similarities we had when we discussed about music and painting….although this may seem trivial, it was a reminder to me that humans really are very much alike despite international borders.”
Before the pandemic, he had never tried painting, but as a child, Singh used to do pencil sketches which were not too bad. However, life caught up with him and he stopped.
“I mostly do abstract paintings. The idea behind it is that although it may look a bit rough and confusing at first glance, upon closer inspection, you can see the meaning and the detail within the different colours. It also represents a bit of my impatient personality but proves that despite that, you can still make a work of art. A lot of my paintings have been inspired by my mother’s imagination, but apart from those I focus on bringing my music interests into it, and whatever comes to mind when I put some colour on the canvas.”
Art is something that has always been quite misunderstood and underappreciated in Guyana. People tend to prioritise socially perceived ‘high class’ jobs such as doctors and lawyers over the Arts. While they are indeed very important, society would not be the same without creative and imaginative thinkers. You see the world and our country are built on the concept of interdependence, you take one pillar out of the bottom and the structure is going to be under strain, and over time it’s going to tumble down.
It is that very notion that caused Singh to never give up his pursuit of music and now he has incorporated painting.
“My guitar journey started 13 years ago in grade 2 at School of the Nations, and after those lessons, I fell in love and decided I needed to learn more. That was when I met my new teacher, he worked in the GDF and taught me some of the things I still use today. Unfortunately, life got very busy and I ended up having to teach myself as I went along the years.”
Back in early 2019, he had his first formal performance on stage at Hard Rock Café, Guyana. It was him, his guitar, two mics and a room full of hungry faces at each table.
“Art stretches across different sort of media, you don’t have to paint to call yourself an artist, nor sing, nor draw, whatever you create is seen as your work of art. Don’t let anyone discourage you from creating something that the world deserves to be a part of, but you also need to keep in careful consideration, to have not only a plan B but also multiple sources of livelihood. Much like countries experience Dutch disease, people can get caught up with one, new thing. So just focus on keeping your options open and work towards something that’s not only going to bring you happiness, but also the luxury to continue to fuel that energy.”