In a large open space that could qualify as an unfinished room or an art studio, overlooking Morvant, Mario Lewis spreads a canvas on the floor and reveals a star-studded, indigo-blue sky.

The universe unfolds on another canvas.

On a table with nothing but a cup of black-ink ballpoint pens, he places black-and-white drawings on card stock of a snake and small forest creatures – ants, earthworms, grasshoppers, spiders, slugs, millipedes, snails, bees and nematodes (small, slender worms that feed on fungi and bacteria).

[caption id="attachment_1043841" align="alignnone" width="794"] Artwork by Mario Lewis on display at Medulla Art Gallery, Fitt Street, Woodbrook. - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]

His early drawings of forest life are simple and realistic, though they penetrate what we see with the naked eye to expose the internal structure of these creatures. Surely this is art.

But Lewis, who was born and raised in Santa Cruz, said, “I wouldn’t describe myself as an artist or what I do as art.

"I was trained to do art. I make something I hope is called art. You can have a conversation around it as art, but it’s not limited to art, so what is it?”

Lewis, a Unesco fellow in 2001, travelled to Italy to do an art residency. He studied at the University of the Arts (formerly Instituto Superior de Arte or ISA) in Cuba, one of the foremost art schools in the Caribbean, and Goldsmiths, University of London, which specialises in creative, cultural and social subjects.

Lewis said he tries to unlearn his formal education in art, but he has an interest in “and a lot of respect for science.”

Three of his five children work in science.

[caption id="attachment_1043840" align="alignnone" width="1009"] Mario Lewis' art on display at Medulla Art Gallery, Fitt Street, Woodbrook. - Angelo Marcelle[/caption]

“I try to figure out why none of them are interested in art.”

Lewis has a keen interest in the composition of soil.

“I spend a lot of time observing the soil because it’s the main thing that gives life to organisms and plants. The more fertile the soil, the healthier the life above. I look at the texture, colour and moisture.

"Good soil is very loose, dark and crumbly, has a sweet smell, and a nice feeling in your hands. It has good drainage, allowing oxygen to pass through. There’s a lot of organic material – leaves, dead animals, plants and organisms in it.”

In 2016, Lewis bought ten acres of land which was part of a colonial cocoa, coffee and citrus plantation in Mamoral, located near Tabaquite and Talparo. He spends weeks at a time there sleeping in a tent, using candles for light. He collects rain water.

In 2020, Lewis found solace in his estate during the covid19 pandemic where he spent weeks at time under a tent.

“This was unprecedented and scary. I was unemployed. It created a lot of difficulty for me and my family. I asked myself, 'Is there something I can do to balance this off so I don’t get depressed?'”

[caption id="attachment_1043839" align="alignnone" width="752"] Artwork by Mario Lewis