Hey all ,
As you all are well aware I had an exhibition at the Jai Bharat Centre in association with Zarah Delhi .
The theme of the exhibition was Tattva , broadly classified into Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Spirit and Shadow
The paintings I exhibited were called Fire and I am the torch bearer
.
Lines that speak about the painting – “Fire”
As you all are well aware I had an exhibition at the Jai Bharat Centre in association with Zarah Delhi .
The theme of the exhibition was Tattva , broadly classified into Air, Earth, Fire, Water, Spirit and Shadow
The paintings I exhibited were called Fire and I am the torch bearer
.
About the two paintings
Fire – 9’’X12’’
Mixed
Media ( Charcoal , Ink , Oil Pastels , Acrylic ) on Acid Free Australian Made
drawing paper
I Am The Torch Bearer – 12’’X16’’
Mixed
Media ( Charcoal , Ink , Oil Pastels , Acrylic ) on Acid free cotton content
water color paper
The Woman in these paintings is a metaphor .The moments that these two
paintings capture her in, are different. She imbues the tattvas, she calls to them and
derives strength from them. These paintings tell a story woven around these
very tattvas .The woman is a widow born centuries
before, a woman who dared to love. She has a fire burning inside of her that gives her
strength to fight all odds, even as she trembles and shivers as if hit by a
gust of wind and a wave of water at the same time. When society
tortures her and attempts to rob her of her fiery spirit, she takes refuge in the
arms of mother earth. Its waters in the form of River Ganga help her
take on this journey.
“The woman in these paintings reminds me of someone who came out the other
side of the pyre, alive and beautiful and whole, young and old at once
Is this exquisite woman poised on the
knife-edge of tragedy or has the knife been through her many times and blunted
itself? Are those dying embers in her eyes, ashes of resignation on her lips,
or does the fire have half a mind to let itself be rekindled? Her eyes could be
tired from weeping, bruised from assault, or that could be the protective kohl
signifying her hope and the passion that cannot be stifled. They have burned
her at the stake to quell her. But what burns within her is fire too, the fire
of love and daring to love. The good
fire and the bad one cannot
quell each other, rather they stoke each other’s flames leading to
uncontrollable destruction. So she quits this war of flames and turns to Ma Ganga for
healing. She escapes into the lap of the waves or maybe she chooses to be
embraced, engulfed, liberated by water?”
-Ms. Mayalakshmi Rao on the two paintings (Friend, Author and
Art critic)
Lines that speak about the painting – “Fire”
“Find the cost of freedom
Buried in the ground
Mother earth will swallow you
Lay your body down”- (The song is by Stephen Stills, 1970)
Buried in the ground
Mother earth will swallow you
Lay your body down”- (The song is by Stephen Stills, 1970)
Lines that speak about the painting “I am
the torch bearer”
“Tell me torchbearer, whose light do you hold there?
Alone on the shore a brave wayfarer walks, undaunted,
against the forceful wind.
Would you light the path for her so she can make her way
safely to the crossing point before she wearies?
Or would you rather dim yourself
so the mediocre don’t feel unsettled in the glare?”
against the forceful wind.
Would you light the path for her so she can make her way
safely to the crossing point before she wearies?
Or would you rather dim yourself
so the mediocre don’t feel unsettled in the glare?”
- Torchbearer by Ms. Mayalakshmi Rao, 2012
It was a fun filled 4 day exhibit
