The Courier

Complete pages of L’Intemporel were used to make it clear that the socio-pictorial-philosophico-esoteric movement that he led at Saint-Soleil in the mountains of Haiti, where the disciples were other artists, the mentally ill and young people. This was probably the world’s most innovative artistic project. “The heir to so many génies maudits, this outstanding painter is an artist who has been blessed,” wrote Malraux.

And it was here in Haiti’s mountains that Tiga and Madam Robart (Tiga’s companion) provided this strange community (who were more their followers than their students) with basic material, paints, canvases, paper – props for creating performances rather than listening to lectures and teaching.

Tiga was never a guru, or if he was he could have been called a guru of freedom, because he never sought to exert any influence on any of the young creative artists he encountered. He would adopt a person, offering affection, support, self-confidence but never advice. He was forever faithful to his own harmonious approach to the existence of the Earth and being.

He believed that “being is a dream, possession, creation and folly”. And this is what he sought to decipher throughout human creation: his own being, that of his acquaintances, the mentally ill and children. Towards this end, he immersed himself in a variety of philosophies, learned specific types of knowledge, such as the genetic code, and engaged in a variety of arts. His painting was tantamount to rhythm – the rhythm of life. Those stirring texts and improvisations were set to the music of Rachmaninov in which he was literally immersed. These stirring, spontaneous settings for showcasing his work became etched on the memory of his audiences.

And his works are strokes of genius, fitting in perfectly with the surrealist legacy of the man. His “burnt suns” are fervent enough to create the light of the shadows, the colours of burnt offerings and the detached joy of the soul’s grey tinges.

Tiga died last December after suffering from cancer – this man who struggled to investigate the origins and implications of DNA and its control, or otherwise, over the human body.

He was sure to have had a tiny smile at the corner of his lips, which was like a tonic to us when marvelling at his paintings and hanging on every word, while sipping upon one of his rare rums.

So long Tiga-son!