The smile on the face of Alex Raphael Fernandes also known as Alexyz is sure to light up the day of anyone he greets and his cartoons have the power to evoke different emotions from joy to sorrow to anger. As the world renowned Goan artist nears his 80th birthday on October 24, this year, he will be sharing his artistic journey through a special Friday Balcao session organised by GOACAN, on the topic, ‘My journey from Typist to Cartoonist’ which will be held at Regina Terrace, Near SFX High School, Siolim, today, August 9 from 4 pm to 6 pm.
Originally from Siolim, Alexyz passed out from Dr Antonio Da Silva High School, Dadar, Mumbai, and graduated in Sociology and Psychology from St Xavier's College, Mumbai in 1969. He then completed his post-graduation in Advertising and Public Relations. A sportsman who made it to the Bombay Juniors Football, Alexyz’s knee was injured which made him quit the world of sports and opt for drawing sports cartoons. “My first love was football but I had to give up on my passion because of my injury. My first book was ‘Sportoons’, was India’s first book of sport toons. ‘Howzzat! - Century of Cricket Cartoons’ was my second book of cartoons and the first on cricket cartoons in India. I was honored by the curator of the Don Bradman Museum, in New South Wales, Australia. It was the first work that was sent to them with verses by Don Bradman. Three of my works are on display at the Museum. In Adelaide, Australia, my exhibition on Don Bradman was inaugurated by Mayor Kirsten, herself a Don Bradman fan,” says Alexyz.
Alexyz was a daily cartoonist for newspapers in Mumbai like The Indian Express, Mid-Day, Free Press Journal, Sunday Observers and Readers Digest before moving back to Siolim in the mid-1970s. He taught art in a school for seven years in Goa before making the switch to cartooning. Alexyz was the first cartoonist for Herald back in the 1980s. His cartoons on the Konkani Agitation and Goa’s Statehood struggle were very much anticipated by the readers. “The then editor gave me 8 columns for my cartoons and the readers would wait for my cartoons which would be made into posters for the agitations,” reminisces Alexyz.
Alexyz forte is his ease at drawing caricatures. From a village scene to a bustling market place, Alexyz can draw so many characters with each offering food for thought. Living in Goa itself, his exhibitions have travelled the world portraying a slice of the Goan life. He has exhibited his art in countries like Kuwait, UAE, Portugal, England, America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and was also awarded a Special Prize for Humour among 50 other European Cartoonists and the prestigious Vincent Xavier Verodiana Award from San Francisco, USA and also the Goa State Cultural Award in the field of painting for the year 2018-19 by the Directorate of Art and Culture, Government of Goa.
Through his exhibitions, he had an opportunity to meet several world personalities like the ex-Prime Minister of England, Richard Hadlee, Sachin Tendulkar, Leander Paes, 1948 hockey Olympian Leo Pinto, artist Francis Newton Sousa, Julio Rebeiro, architect Charles Correa and artist Laxman Pai. Alexyz is the only Indian cartoonist to be invited to have his exhibition by the Labour MP Keith Vaz in 2000 in House of Commons. His collections have also been released as books. He has authored six books, ‘Sportoons’, ‘Howzzat: A Century of Cricket Cartoons’, Goa – Paradise Lost’, ‘Goa…Goan…Goaing…Gone?’, ‘O to be in Goa’ and ‘Caricatures of 100 Great Tiatrists’.
Alexyz is also a founding member of Eco Treks Goa and the popular Festival of Plants and Flowers and the Sao Joao Traditional Boat Parade which put Siolim on the map. On August 9, Alexyz will be exhibiting 43 of his works which spans decades of thought with the largest artwork measuring 8 feet x 2 feet. “The terrace will be able to accommodate around 40-50 people and there will be conversations between Prasad Pankar and Fr Noel Menezes and I. The session will be about how I started with football which was my main ambition to being cartoonist. I will also be demonstrating my cartoons,” explains Alexyz.