Artist Sarah Anuradha Mohammed: 'What my mother taught me about art'

Local artist Sarah Anuradha Mohammed says her mother Ann Judy Joseph-Mungal recognised the importance of kindness and the power of art to bring about positivity.

Joseph-Mungal, 68, died on Father's Day on June 18.

Mohammed said her mother believed in fostering creativity in others and providing a platform for emerging talent to flourish. He said people most remembered Joseph-Mungal’s kindness as she would try to help anyone she came across. She was a mother figure and mentor to many.

“Her presence brightened every room she entered, and her infectious kindness spread joy and comfort to those fortunate enough to be touched by it. She had an innate ability to connect with people on a deep and meaningful level, making everyone feel heard and understood.”

Joseph-Mungal was an art teacher at several primary and secondary schools, including Carapichaima West Secondary School, and an artist for over 30 years. She worked with watercolour, oils and acrylic and had many showings at the Art Society of TT and Women in Art group exhibitions, as well as at the Southern Academy of Performing Arts, the Mud House Museum in Avocat, south Trinidad, and the Rotunda Gallery at the Red House in Port of Spain.

She was diagnosed with heart complications in 2019 when doctors said she was “on borrowed time.” But, she survived for four more years and helped and supported Mohammed through her pregnancy and the birth of her grandchild, Ariella, in 2020.

Joseph-Mungal was also a breast cancer survivor,

“She was not just a survivor, she was like a warrior. I was still in primary school so I don’t remember much but she fought through a whole lot. It was a long, hard journey.”

Mohammed said she grew up seeing her mother’s paintings. The process fascinated her and she tried to copy her mother.

“She introduced me to art. When we lived in Claxton Bay she used to have me painting on the cardboard toilet paper rolls. She was always into reusing things. She would crush eggshells and create a beautiful design or put oil paint in water and dip (Irish) Bailey’s bottles in it. She would always find a way to recycle.”

Mohammed said her mother was very selective in the work she showed in public, and after she got ill she painted mostly as a form of stress relief and relaxation.

“Her favourite medium was watercolour, but recently she developed a love for abstract. Her style and everything was always changing and evolving. Mummy breathed life into her art, infusing it with soul that tapped into the depths of those who beheld it.

“The process of painting was most important to her where there is no planning and no restrictions on representation. Witnessing her engaged in the act of painting was nothing short of awe-inspiring.”

Mohammed said her mother supported anything she did and was her number one fan when it came to her artwork. She described Joseph-Mungal as her partner in crime, best friend, and role model. She said when she was young, they would sometimes wake up around 2 am to raid the kitchen for ice cream, sing loudly to wake her late father, Boodram Mungal, who died in 2017, or watch movies.

Mohammed recalled Joseph-Mungal being well on the day of her death. She was wishing people happy Father’s Day, talking, messaging, posting on social media, and making plans. All of a sudden, she said she could not breathe and Mohammed and her in-laws placed her in the car and drove her to a private hospital. About three minutes later, she died in the car in the arms of her daughter.

Mohammed said she was not mentally prepared to lose her last parent but said her mother’s spirit would remind her to embrace life fully and cherish it.

She said Joseph-Mungal was very proud when her granddaughter expressed the desire to create art or painted anything.

“She showered (Ariella) with boundless affection and unconditional love. As we traversed through life’s journey together, mummy was able to see her growth, nurturing her dreams, supporting her three-year-old aspirations, and embracing her unique qualities. If there was anyone who made mummy laugh to the point where her belly pained her, it was Ariella.”

Joseph-Mungal also loved flowers like roses and orchids, as well as gardening.