Like most creative people, Manuel Palacio believes that art is a never-ending journey of discovery -- about himself, his work, his emotions, and the ability to express all three in a way which captures the viewer's attention.

He also believes it is good to collaborate with other artists from time to time, and through such fusions to open new horizons.

So when guests attend this Friday's opening at the Kafu Hair and Gallery at No. 8, Parliament Street (northern end) they will see a "marriage'' of Mr.

Palacio's art with Andra Simons' poems.

Entitled `Light and Air', the exhibition will contain up to 30 charcoal drawings on paper by Mr. Palacio, over which Mr. Simons has written his poetry.

"I wanted to include Andra's poetry as a way of contrasting art with something else,'' the artist explains. "He is somebody whose work I admire very much. It is always very personal and very revealing. He is an excellent poet, theatre person and playwright, and one of the founders of Flow Sundays, which I believe to be the best art on the Island, so I wanted to have a little bit of that in my show.'' For his part, Mr. Simons is equally pleased to be working closely with someone whose work he has long admired.

"I have always liked Manuel's work ever since I saw his first show, `I Is', which inspired me to write some poems and give them to him. The mutual respect for each other has always been there, and when he asked me if I would be interested in doing a show with him I didn't hesitate.'' The poet does, however, admit that in approaching the project he was more than a little anxious.

"Manuel was very confident, but when I saw how beautiful his drawings were it took me time to get out of my head that I was going to devalue them to writing on top of them. As I went on, however, I really enjoyed the experience, which is my first.'' For this exhibition Mr. Palacio has focused on nudes.

"Nude persons, nude body parts and nude faces,'' he says. "I want this show to be revealing.'' And indeed it will be, for the artist does not believe in shrinking away from anatomical detail.

A creative marriage Nor does he work with a coy hand when committing to paper what he sees. By including Mr. Simons' poetry he is deliberately trying to make the viewer stop and study the drawings without embarrassment or blushes.

"I didn't want it to be one-dimensional view of the human form, nor a go-down-the-line show,'' he explains. "By incorporating the poetry the viewer is forced to stand still, look and read about that figure. If people are not inspired, then I have failed as an artist.'' Naturally, creating pieces for this exhibition required the artist to work with live models -- an experience from which both he and his subjects learned a great deal.

"I always see the human figure as glorious, beautiful and sexy, but one of the models had a bad reaction. She loved my work, but as she explained her reasons for this, I was able to capture the emotional aspect of her life which she was revealing. That is what happens when you are willing to expose a lot of yourself with another human being, you learn something new, and I have learned a lot from this show.'' Mr. Palacio believes strongly that nude art should be an honest and healthy portrayal of the human form, and he says he feels honoured that the models were willing to work with him.

"Covering up things is not being honest when I am asking someone to reveal all of themselves for hours, and take time out of their busy day,'' he explains.

In fact, so strongly does Mr. Palacio feel about his work that for Friday's opening he is even arranging for a child care provider to be on hand so that guests can bring their youngsters and relax knowing that everyone is having a good time.

The welcome presence of children is an extension of the philosophy with which he is raising his own three daughters, who regularly attend art functions with their parents.

"My own children are comfortable with my work. I want art to be a part of children's lives that they are not aware of,'' he explains. "That is why I put a lot of body parts in my show because I don't want my children to grow up thinking there is something wrong with body parts. I want them to ask any questions they wish, and I want to give them honest answers.'' Creatively, Mr. Palacio says that art is a growing experience to which he is fully committed.

"Every time I do art I want to do something different and challenging, and not necessarily something safe,'' he says. "Art is an emotional statement, not just an exercise in rendering. It is how you express yourself, and what your emotions bring to our society. I want you to know me, so by exposing myself to something that is on my mind, you are not to assume that it is a vulgar statement because of the way you feel about yourself.'' Likewise, Mr. Simons says writing poetry is the end result of a "primal need to express oneself, and seems to have the easiest for the individual in that all you need is a pen or pencil, and can do it anywhere''.

He has been writing poetry from childhood, but only seriously for the past six years. Already, he has had one chat book published, and is working on two more to be published next year.

Passionate about poetry, Mr. Simons says he loves it because it allows the writer to clarify how he or she feels about something in a way that is immediately accessible to everyone.

Just as he is passionate about his art, so too is Mr. Palacio about the vexing question of sponsorship and public support for all artists.

"I am a full-time artist, but I definitely could not survive without the support of my sponsors,'' he says. "I think one of the reasons Bermuda does not have a thriving art community is because people don't believe artists need support. Buying art is a way of helping to support expression in the community.'' `Light and Air' continues through December 31. Opening hours are 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free. For further information telephone 295-5238 or e-mail kafugallery y hotmail.com