Gozali / Conversations - Solo show by Savia Viegas

“Gozali / Conversations” opens on Saturday 18 th April ’26 at 7 pm at Carpe Diem Art Gallery, Majorda –
South Goa and will continue to be on display until 17 th May ’26 from 10 am - 7 pm | Wednesday to
Sunday

Savia Viegas is a renowned artist, writer, art historian, and academic from South Goa. Deeply rooted in
Goan culture, her work brings together community oral histories, questions of identity, and feminist
perspectives through both literature and textile art.
A self-described “closet painter,” Savia treats painting as a deeply personal practice—one that allows her to
release the vivid imagery that emerges during her writing process, making space for words to flow.
Her upcoming solo exhibition, Gozali / Conversations, presents a body of work that is both intimate and
socially reflective. The exhibition features two textile-based series—Love Tales and Carmona’s Talking
Quilt—comprising layered, hand-embroidered works on upcycled denim. Through intricate stitching, Savia
narrates stories of love, sexuality, womanhood, and everyday life, exploring complex emotions such as
desire, anxiety, memory, and silence.
Also included is a series of paintings, each telling stories inspired by different aspects of Goa. Influenced by
her background in art history, Savia often uses a synoptic narrative style—where multiple moments of a
story unfold within a single frame.
One of the key painted series, Song Sung Blue, traces the life of a Goan Catholic woman named Divina.
Beginning in the late 1950s around the time of Goa Liberation, the narrative follows her life over five
decades to its tragic end. Beyond a personal story, Divina’s journey becomes a metaphor for the gradual
decline of a once-vibrant Goan Catholic community, while also reflecting on the rapid and often unsettling
changes shaping contemporary Goa.
Rendered in shades of blue—traditionally associated with melancholy—the series deepens the emotional
impact of the narrative. The recurring portrayal of Divina, along with the subdued expressions of the figures,
evokes a lingering sense of loss, reflection, and quiet unease.
Savia’s figurative style, combined with her use of vibrant colour, makes her artworks visually engaging and
compelling, offering viewers both aesthetic pleasure and layered storytelling.