my art
SHIVASHAKTI: My early attempts in Madhubani style with poster colors on paper. This is one of my firsts, done during college days where I was discovering different style of indian folk paintings. Gond & Madhubani are some of my favourites today. Inspired by our rich history of traditional folk art, i wish to create somekind of Indian design language that can be be applied in the graphic space.
BUTTER KRISHNA: Done in Tanjore style with gold foils and semi-precious gems. Under the aegis of a Tanjore Master from South India, this was my first attempt at Tanjore. The painting is made by the gilded and gem-set technique – a technique where gold leaves & sparkling stones are used to highlight certain aspects of the painting like ornaments, dresses etc. This rich style of art has originated from Maratha court of Thanjavur, where the gods and godesses were the main subjects. Traditionally Butter Krishna is a sitting pose of child krishna wearing only ornaments, holding a butter pot in one hand. I have framed my Butter Krishna in the traditional Chettinad wooden frame.
BOTTLE ART
I LOVE CALVIN: My first bottle art happened, thanks to my husband. He wanted a handmade gift for his birthday... i got this little wicked idea... I found one of his empty whisky bottle and painted our fav Calvin with some whacky lines, and then wrapped it in a whisky box. He was delighted to see the whisky box, only to find an empty bottle with my funny art on it.
PURR: Inspired by their pet cat Valerie, I painted this one for Richa & Luv Kalla on their birthdays. The neck of the bottle has Richa's favourite magnolia on one side and Luvs tattoo (which i got all wrong) on the other.
SAVE THE SNOW LEOPARD: I painted this for the team of SLC-IT (Snow Leopard Conservancy India Trust), when they came down to Mumbai for the Kalaghoda festival.
SAVE THE SNOW LEOPARD: Bottle wotk in progress.
NEWYORK: I painted this for Varun, our producer, a complete NY fan. I experimented with lights in this bottle and it gave an interesting feel of night-scape in NY.
NEWYORK: NY Bottle 360°
NEWYORK: Bottle work in progress.
PHALLUS PAINTING: On my trip to Bhutan, I noticed colorful phallus paintings on the walls of many shops, homes and eateries. These symbols of an erect penis were used intending to drive away the evil eye and malicious gossip. The origins of these esoteric symbols can be traced to a Buddhist monastery, Chimi Lhakhang near Bhutan's former capital, Punakha. This monastery was built in honour of Lama Drukpa Kunley who lived in the 15-16th century and who was popularly known as the "Mad Saint" or “Divine Madman” for his unorthodox ways of teaching. Legend has it that Drupka Kinley would hit errant demons over the head with his penis to subdue them and turn them into protective deities.
We saw several wooden penises in the monastery. Infact there were also being sold in stores. I picked up this one made of wood and created my own art on it.
RISING KUNDALINI: According to Yoga/ Tantra, kundalini energy rests like a coiled serpent at the base of the spine. The purpose of Kundalini practice is to uncoil your snake and release that energy within.
When this dormant energy flows freely upward through the seven chakras (energy centers) and leads to an expanded state of consciousness, it's known as a kundalini awakening. An experience of arousal of the kundalini energy, often occurrs very powerfully. For some, the experience can be blissful and filled with feelings of love and a sense of the interconnectedness of all things.
My concept of this art on an erect penis was to depict coiled kundalini rising up like a snake, reflecting the inner energy of the soul rising for liberation.
MORE WORK COMING UP IN PART 2