Joseph Foo, co-founder of Art4Soul, is a campaigner for visual arts as an instrument for inspiring thoughts, questions and ideas."The reason why there are no great thinkers left is because there are too many voices, too many distractions," he says, explaining that people need to spend some time with themselves just reflecting.
"The general perception of designers is that we are people who can draw and paint. But, in essence, we judge aesthetics and tell stories through imagery."
Man&God is an ongoing project that explores the relationship between the two beings, through the ideas of creative minds of different faiths and various cultures. It has been around for three years, gathering contributors spanning continents, prompting audiences to rethink the basic questions surrounding life and God.
For 30 years, graphic designer Joseph Foo was troubled by his grandmother's nagging questions. "Can design feed people? Can design improve our lives? Can design make us better people? Touch lives?" With an engineer and a doctor for siblings, those were questions that lingered in his mind. "I felt that if I couldn't answer these questions, I wouldn't be able to move on with life," the 38-year-old says, remembering the distress he felt. So he set off to be completely by himself for a few months, away from the distractions of every day life, and then returned with an idea he called Art4Soul.
Gathering together a community of designers, writers and creative people who shared his vision of spiritual-driven design, Joseph set out to unravel the mysteries of life and of beauty. Art and creativity also paved the way to a bigger purpose - supporting religious or charity organisations in need. One such project was painting the paediatric ward in the Kuala Lumpur General Hospital. "The walls were colourless and drab," says Joseph. "So we gathered some of our designers and other volunteers, including some students, and painted colourful murals on the walls.
