Arts Lifestyle

Dreaming in colour: Christian Develter’s striking portraits

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Fascinated by evolving cultures, Christian Develter’s paintings explore themes of colour, beauty and the fluidity of tradition.

Born and raised in Belgium, Christian Develter has been living and working in Asia for more than 20 years. The themes of his work are influenced by the dynamic, unrestricted and rich Southeast Asian experience, yet his style is far from traditional. An internationally-recognised artist, his work is characterised by bold use of colour, geometric lines and perfectly symmetrical female faces, which are brought to life on large-scale wall canvases. The subject matter of his work clearly reflects a warm affection for natural beauty and elegance, revealing a connection to the people and cultures around the world he has visited. “Most of my inspiration comes from travelling, it is fascinating to compare facial features of different cultures. Even so, the use of colour in fabric or even products in a local market can spark an idea”, Develter says.

Fascinated by colour, surface texture and mark making, Develter is constantly planning the next project. “My creative process is a process of continuation, when I’m working on a piece, my mind is already working on the next painting.” He describes his technique as something that has changed over the years, “I used to work with a paint knife and made paintings with a lots of structure, these days the pieces are more refined and polished”.

Stylistically, Develter doesn’t fall into one artistic category, in some ways his work can be referred to as contemporary or pop, with his use of bold colours and flat tones but in other ways, he ignores the traits of a modern painting focusing on more traditional themes and subject matter.

A modernised tradition

Develter’s latest series of paintings “Chin, Urban & Tribal” is inspired by the intricately tattooed faces of the Chin tribeswomen living in the jungles of north-western Myanmar. Here, women young and old and from various tribes, use tattoo marks in a centuries’ old tradition to distinguish their ancestry and to indicate their marital status or social ranking. The intricate patterns are carved into the skin by thorns, using a mixture of sap from a local plant, ash and chicken blood or buffalo kidney. Develter explains that, “according to a legend, the ornate tattoos were originally done so that Burmese Kings would not be able to steal Chin women as wives. Over time, the tattoos have evolved to become symbols of strength and beauty: reflecting nature – especially the animal and plant Kingdom – and the animist beliefs of the tribe.”

With a highly disciplined composition and bold colour exploration, Develter’s most famous paintings and prints make up the remarkable ‘Chin’ series. Rather than simply recreating the tattoo pattern on the canvas, Develter transforms the intricate symbols and original markings from this fading tradition, and superimposes them onto the faces of modern Asian women.

Featured works

Laytu Chin, perhaps one of Develter’s more better-known works, is a somewhat mesmerising portrait of an Asian female. The perfectly symmetrical face is covered in complex geometrical shapes, with bold line details and intricate patterns. The huge, hypnotic eyes gaze directly at the observer, revealing a sense of her character and individual strength. Develter’s firstly paints a narrative, “My paintings are portraits and I aim to create an impact at first sight, a confrontation with the eyes and expression of the subject. There is no story depicted in the background, the facial expression tells the story.”

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More recently, Develter has been working on a butterfly series including works titled Butterfly K’Cho Chin and Butterfly Daai Khuum Chin. He uses the powerful, beautiful and bold aspects of colour and contrasting schemes for maximum impact. Each character is portrayed with different patterns on to the face, based on actual tattoos from different regions. “Some of the paintings are based on real people but the tattoo paintings mostly not. To give the tattoo paintings a more modern feel I draw a face of which the left side is identical to the right – so a perfect symmetrical facial image.” Develter describes the paintings of this series “to be an amalgamation between the modern and the past – displaying the perfectly symmetrical urban faces of Asian women painted with the painstakingly intricate Chin tribal tattoo designs of Myanmar.”

There is an emotional resonance to Develter’s work that affects people on a personal and even spiritual level. His paintings explore culture, ideas, and traditional notions of beauty. “My aim is to give beauty a new platform and to spin this with a modern urban feeling.”

For more information visit http://www.christiandevelter.com/

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