To expand my learning dimension and capability of learning; I signed up for courses like Visual Thinking and Cosmic Art of India. Such courses have given me a through insight on Visual language. The phenomenologist Paul Riccouer said that “Images give rise to thought”. The courses gave me an insight of material culture, to find meaning in objects. Thinking with things, leads to an understanding of a visual language, where objects become metaphors. Various objects that are part of a material culture was explored to find their meaning in an overarching symbolic language that uses visual images as a way of thinking about our physical environment.
“Nor shall this peace sleep with her; but as when
The bird of wonder dies, the maiden phoenix,
Her ashes new create another heir
As great in admiration as herself;
So shall she leave her blessedness to one,
When heaven shall call her from this cloud of darkness,
Who from the sacred ashes of her honour
Shall star-like rise as great in fame as she was,
And so stand fix’d.” - Henry VIII, William Shakespeare
The qualities of fire element is very dynamic. Fire is neither stable nor mobile. Fire neither stands still nor generates motion. Although fire is subtle, its effects are clearly observable, and so we have a clear sense of what it is. Fire represents light, heat, lustre, energy, understanding, metabolism, and the power of transformation. The art piece is an attempt to represent fire as an abstract form of Phoenix bird.
As Inside, so Outside.
The following art work depicts the element fire in a context of “As inside, so outside.” This art tries to bridge the gap between the inner and outer world, using the transcendental element of fire.
Fire, long has been worshipped in various religions, from Hindu traditions to Zoroastrians. Agni is very important in the Vedas. A third of all the Vedic hymns are about Agni. This is also associated with the Divine presence or energy. For long we have worshiped these elements and the elements have in return blessed us with the knowledge to use these elements in divine and transcendental way!
Lately, we have stopped respecting this divine nature of the elements and hence we see all the havocs around us. Fire which could be pure and transcendental in nature, now also creates havoc around us, as we have lost the touch of divine in the element.
“The ecological disasters are caused by a loss of the sense of the sacred in the elements. If we believe water is divine, that it is a God, we will not waste it. We will not exploit it. But in a secular society the sense of the divine in the elemental has been replaced by a rational, empirical understanding of element.”
Beautiful patterns can be observed when one takes a walk through nature. These patterns can be used to imprint area.
The concept behind the mandal was to use the concept of ‘kaal - time’, being donated by number six. The petals, the triangles form by intersection, all represent number six. In the centre of mandala imprints from friend sunflower was used to bring out the effects as sun. The triangles have thumb imprints, thus leaving behind the marks of artist. The following mandala represents microcosm, in form of a mandala. Various objects were used to make these imprints.