‘Moksha’ by Sheetal Agarwal
Mixed media and acrylic on canvas, 2015

Sheetal Agarwal

The spectacular world of image-making has been Singapore-based Sheetal Agarwal’s realm of creative expression and visual articulation since childhood. In order to comprehend and internalise her individual perspectives and contexts in art-making, it is imperative to acknowledge the fact that she is an artist, a photographer and an award-winning documentary filmmaker. Sheetal has been presented with the 2008/2009 Biennial Global Awards by the Triangle Media Group for her contribution to Film, TV and Drama in the Asian region. In addition, her documentaries have won numerous international awards, which include the Michael Moore Award Best Documentary Film at the 44th Ann Arbor Film Festival and the Best Documentary KODAK Award at the 20th Annual Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. With this momentously significant affiliation towards the intensely ocular facet of art, Sheetal has advanced through a natural and essential tendency to mellifluously integrate the experiences she had acquired from her three-faceted creative pursuit, within her art-making process. And in order to allow the flow of such a fascinating amalgamation, Sheetal is in absolute synchronisation with the mighty influence of context and perspective in deciphering an image.

With pleasant enthusiasm, she affirms, “As a photographer and a documentary filmmaker, I have always used images to tell stories, and my experiments in those fields have been around the placing of images in different contexts, to tell different stories, in multiple narratives. This is a profound aspect of using images (still or moving). The context of the image-placement changes its meaning. And the context is entirely created by the artist. Images, in whatever context, will also mean different things to different people. So while I, as an artist, might wish to say something through the use of images, the viewer might go away with a different meaning.”

As a spontaneous extension of this intention, Sheetal has created ‘Moksha’, a recent series of pulsating mixed-media paintings that gleam with resplendent hues of an authoritative temperament. In the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions, the term ‘moksha’ is used in reference to the release from the human cycle of re-birth and death. However, it is more conveniently and conventionally referred to as a state of self-realisation or enlightenment on levels that are emotional, spiritual and intellectual in occurrence. This intriguing series, accentuated by its intuitively thought-provoking title, is based on images of Gautama Buddha in popular contexts. Sheetal opines that the Buddha, in current times, “is as much a commercial icon as Coca Cola or any other brand, and I juxtapose that insight with the thought of the Buddha being the path to moksha. Also, we need to overcome many layers of obstacles to reach that unity with our divine selves, which is what I mean by achieving ‘moksha’.”

Equipped with a vivacious sense of colour and conceptual universality, Sheetal has exhibited her paintings globally in Singapore, Spain, Germany and London.

It is difficult to deny the premise that an artist is indeed an elevated soul who is unquestionably on the path to ‘moksha’. And Sheetal, as an undaunted creative being, has embarked on a significant and alluring symbiosis of the re-contextualisation of existing meaning and the appropriation of popular images, without compromising on the presence of aesthetics.

Written by Vidhya Gnana Gouresan

To view artworks by Sheetal Agarwal, visit www.facebook.com or email to Gnani Arts via gnani_arts@yahoo.com.sg, or call 6735 3550.

Serene by Sheena Bharathan, acrylic on canvas, 60 x 75 cm, 2015

Symbols were the channel through which Gautama Buddha was first represented. The debatable origins of the Buddharupa or the anthropomorphic representation of the Buddha is believed to have taken root in the 1st century AD. And the rest is history, or art history, so to speak. There are numerous manners and tendencies through which an image can be deciphered. One such tendency is to observe it from the point of its cultural biography, which can spontaneously and quite carelessly entail the arena of contemporary art.

“Even as the images hang on to their distinctive insignia, they may find themselves carried off to new places, where they encounter new audiences, who may not know or appreciate their earlier significances. Or, even staying in their original locations, the images may take on new roles and new meanings in response to the changing world around them.” ~ Richard Davies

Davis’ reference to ‘new roles’ and ‘new meanings’ in a world that is constantly going through some sort of a change (due to factors such as globalisation and evolving communal and individual beliefs and identities) can be immediately applied within the scope of the substantial level of personalisations and localisations that the image of the Buddha has experienced.

One intriguing personalisation is Singapore-based artist Sheena Bharathan’s charismatic portrayal of Gautama Buddha in her recent artwork titled Serene. The Buddha is progressive in the act and art of teaching and disseminating the energy of knowledge and of intellectual deliberation and exchange. This pursuit is signified by the vitarka mudra on his right hand, which is superficially-defined as the gesture of debate or discussion. On his left hand, he presents the avakasha mudra, which is referred to as the gesture of leisure.

Sheena, who was born in Kerala/India and previously based in Dubai, is a child development specialist with ten years of experience in the profession. Relocating to Singapore four years ago was a milestone in her life, as it unexpectedly rejuvenated her pursuit in the arts and offered her the timely, golden opportunity to be trained under some reputed artists in the Lion City. Sheena shares with delight: “Human forms are a central theme in my artworks. I intend to create a feeling of calmness using colours and varying degrees of simplification when depicting my figures.”

In a world of immense generalisation and of democratic modernity, it is astounding to recognise the almost miraculous persistency of the visual integrity and the undeviating legitimacy in the representation of the authoritatively introspective image of the Buddha; an image that instantly serves as a reminder of the most fundamental formula to success in human life – daily meditation. Sheena’s Serene is indeed an effortlessly-intuitive manifestation of this all-healing, magnificent formula.

To view artworks by Sheena Bharathan, email gnani_arts@yahoo.com.sg. Visit www.gnaniarts.com.

Written by Vidhya Gnana Gouresan

Stephane Delapree, A Very Very Good Man, acrylic on canvas, 90 x 90 cm, 2015

One can encounter many buddhas. However, there is only one Gautama Buddha. In the same spirit, there may be many exhibitions in a year, but only one Gnani Arts blockbuster exhibition. 
Gnani Arts, in an absolutely positive spirit, is all set and ready to present its blockbuster exhibition of the year – ‘The Enlightened One: Images of Gautama Buddha in Contemporary Art’. Under my curation, it has been scheduled to be staged at the ION Art Gallery (Singapore) from 18 to 24 May 2015. This significant showcase celebrates an irrefutably powerful anthropomorphic representation of a subject that entails great art historical emphasis and that embodies an international reputation for its profound metaphorical and philosophical symbolism. 

The dynamic team of artists for this exhibition has been provided with the intriguing option of personalising and/or localising the image of Gautama Buddha, within an informed context that is visually-legitimate, in view of the pre-conceived notions of the visual representation of the image. With a conscious sincerity towards the curatorial trajectory, every artist of the exhibition has been urged to pursue an ‘inner’ research. As a creative being, the artist contextualises and formulates every artwork of the exhibition. The devoted participation of the artist is never to be underrated as the artist is absolutely valuable and is of utmost importance, as he/she plays an integral role in establishing a deliberately-individualised, artist-specific manifestation of my curatorial and conceptual intention. The artist thinks. The artist feels. The artist re-creates the image of Gautama Buddha and attempts to realise what it conveys to him/her, as the artist senses the pulse of the image, beyond its inevitable historical, religious, sociological and geographical connotations. Technique is imperative, no doubt. But narrative is as important. And so, the artist endows his/her image of Gautama Buddha with a story that will effortlessly engage the viewer, a salient but silent story that beams with the joy and challenge of embracing the subjective degrees of reverberating appreciation on the viewer’s part.

The principle collection of the exhibition will feature paintings by senior and emerging artists from Singapore, Cambodia, India and Sri Lanka, including Alpana Ahuja, Alphonso Doss, Anila Ayilliath, KV Dhilna Amar, Gauri Gupta, P. Gnana, Harshini Sudarshan, Ika Forssell, Jayatri Saha, J. Kalidass, Kavita Aras Rajput, Mona Singhania, Raja Segar, Revati Rao, Sachin Kedari, Shalini, Sheena Bharathan, Sheetal Agarwal, Sonali Mohanty, Stephane Delapree, Sunaina Bhalla and the late M. Suriyamoorthy.

The Enlightened One: Images of Gautama Buddha in Contemporary Art will allow you to indulge in yet another realm of aesthetic improvisation, under the fascinating and all-encompassing hood of creative contemporaneity. Get ready for 18 May 2015, to celebrate the many personalisations and localisations of one single image that assertively represents the Buddhist universe within the acceptable dichotomy of the sacred and the secular.

Exhibition: The Enlightened One: Images of Gautama Buddha in Contemporary Art
Dates: 18 – 24 May 2015
Venue: ION Art Gallery
Contact: gnani_arts@yahoo.com.sg or visit www.gnaniarts.com

Toil of Love – 01, P Perumal, Oil on canvas, 2007

There are many aspects and angles to the entire social, political and aesthetic progress of the modern and contemporary art of South India.

Madras (current Chennai) was the main centre for the arts during the period of early Post-Independence in South India, a region that has played a pivotal role in the development of modern and contemporary Indian art within a wider context.

In 1850, the Madras School of Arts (currently known as the Government College of Fine Arts, Chennai) was established for the purpose of training native artisans to create handcrafted products (for manufacture). This historic college was instrumental in launching the systematic development of modern art history in India. Indeed, it is significant to note that the Madras School of Arts is the very first arts college that was established in the whole of India, making it the oldest arts institution of the nation. Acclaimed artists from other parts of India, such as Kolkata-based Paritosh Sen, have been students of the Madras School of Arts.

Village Wedding Procession – 02, P. Perumal, Oil on canvas, 2007

Today, the term, ‘Madras School of Arts’, is referred to as an important genre, an ever-significant movement in the modern art history of India, a monumental phase that nurtured the brilliance of modern masters such as P. Perumal. Born in 1935, Perumal was a National Scholar in drawing and painting (1962 – 64). He served as a Fellow of the State Lalit Kala Academy (1995), and was awarded a Gold Medal (1998) at a programme by the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Manav Sangrahalaya, Bhopal.

Perumal’s works are part of private and institutional collections in South Korea, Italy, the USA, Germany and Canada. Apart from being a practising artist, Perumal is well-respected in the field of art education, having been an art instructor at the Government High School, Chennai (1959 – 1961) and an Associate Lecturer at the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai (1988). He is also a recipient of a Senior Fellowship from the Department of Culture, Government of India (1988 – 1990). Perumal received the Indian National Award in 1991.

Having had spent his formative years in a village in Tamil Nadu (South India), Perumal endows the villagers; the human personalities in his paintings with what is deemed as the ‘poor-yet-happy’ state of emotion, while he effortlessly provides us with his elated perspective of the sentiments of the workforce in an archetypical village in Tamil Nadu. In his art, Perumal captures a distinct innocence and a fatigued satisfaction in the postures of the villagers that he depicts in his staple visual narrative, often insinuating a sense of promise and hope for the tired human bone.

Perumal continues to create his elucidating paintings in a corner of the state of Tamil Nadu, rejoicing in his fascinating world of rural nostalgia.

Written by Vidhya Gnana Gouresan

To view paintings by P. Perumal, call 9003 2851, send an email to gnani_arts@yahoo.com.sg, or visit www.gnaniarts.com.

Shiva as Lord of the Dance (Nataraja) c.11th century, Copper alloy, Chola period, 68.3 x 56.5 cm, (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), Image source:
http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/shiva-as-lord-of-the-dance-nataraja.html

In current times, the image of the Nataraja has become one of the most featured and recognised icons/symbols that unanimously represents Indian art or the cultural heritage of India in general, playing the role of a cultural ambassador for India in a tremendously global context. Indeed, context plays a significant role in the continuing cultural biography of the Nataraja image. From being a sacred entity, the Nataraja image has indeed become an irrefutable aspect of commoditization, as it holds on to a niche of its own as a commodity in the art market as well.

The Nataraja is one of the many forms of the Hindu god Shiva, as the Lord of Cosmic Dance. It is a concept with a dynamic representation, whereby the Lord symbolically performs the ananda tandava, literally meaning ‘the fierce dance of bliss’ (there are 108 tandavas or dance stances in which the Nataraja can be portrayed), which is the dance that encompasses the mythological, cosmic and cyclic phenomenon whereby the universe is created, sustained and destroyed, only to emerge again for the next round of this eternal cycle that rules the cosmos. At this juncture, it will be appropriate to make a reference to Fritjof Capra’s study of Nataraja’s dance in relation to modern Physics. Capra refers to Nataraja’s dance as ‘the dance of subatomic matter’, whereby every subatomic particle performs an ‘energy dance’, which he refers to as ‘a pulsating process of creation and destruction’.

Typically and particularly in sculpture, the Nataraja is visualised and portrayed as standing in a majestic stance on his bent right leg, while his left leg is gracefully raised across the right leg. He has four arms; his rear right arm holds a drum (damaru), which represents the primal sense of sound, while his left rear arm holds fire, representing one of the five elements of nature; his front right arm denotes the gesture of protection (abhaya mudra) while the other front arm stretches elegantly in a dance gesture. He signifies the act of subduing the ego or ignorance as his right leg stamps with perfect balance on a mythological dwarf by the name of Muyalagan, the personification of ego and ignorance. The spread of his matted locks suggest the flamboyant movement of his dance, with the accommodation of the crescent moon and the river Ganga (or Ganges), signifying the source of yet another element of nature. His entire dancing figure is surrounded by a ring of flames. The origins of the Nataraja image remains debatable.

However, it is unanimously accepted that the Nataraja is essentially and primarily a deity of the Tamil Region of India, regardless of its international lure. In the context of the performing arts, the Nataraja is regarded to be the embodiment of classical dance and a metaphor for rhythmic movement (elaborately and synonymously associated with Bharatanatyam, one of the oldest and most popular dance forms of India). This context coincides with the image’s religious aspect, as, even in the context of the performing arts, the Nataraja image is viewed from a devotional perspective. In the context of art history and aesthetics, the concept holds paramount significance by the very fact that the technical and aesthetic brilliance of the depiction of the Nataraja image in bronze reached its zenith during the dynamic and mighty Chola dynasty in South India (c.300 BC – c.1279 AD). Furthermore, in the context of philosophy, the image embodies key references to the elements and disposition of time and space, timelessness and cosmology. Also, there are mathematical, diagrammatic and metaphysical elements in the form of the Nataraja image, which provide a legitimate connection to the context of artistic creation in contemporary times. Indeed, this is the context that inaugurates a secular perspective to the Nataraja image and its concept.

It is not a myth, but a fact that the possibilities and tendencies, within the ever-continuing cultural biography of the Nataraja image, form an entity that promises to be culturally-momentous and socially-indicative, as long as the active role of transient contexts persists.

Written by Vidhya Gnana Gouresan

For research references, contact the writer at gnani_arts@yahoo.com.sg or call 9003 2851.
www.gnaniarts.com

‘Calling’ by Mona Singhania, oil on canvas

An ancient theory in Indian aesthetics provides a very palatable and down-to earth reasoning and discussion with regards to the inevitable experience of subjectivity in art appreciation. It is called the rasa theory. And it was enunciated by Bharathamuni (referred to as an Indian theatrologist-cum-musicologist) in his Natya Shastra (c. 2000 BC), which is essentially an authoritative treatise on dance and theatre.

The theory has been applied to the visual arts without difficulty, but with an imperative need for a hyper-creative imagination on the viewer’s part. Let me explain. Rasa is the ‘taste’ one receives from a work of art. To experience rasa is to feel a deep enjoyment that is due to and because of a work of art. Rasa is a vibration that comes from within – that enables a person to communicate with an artwork, regardless of any formal knowledge about the work or about specific nuances in art. To put it in a simple manner, the experience of rasa is as natural as the act of breathing. The pre-requisite is, to be human. Within this essence, there is a painting by Mona Singhania, a promising Singapore-based artist who was born and brought up in Badaun (Uttar Pradesh, India), that touches one’s innermost desire for and experience of what can be relatively-defined as freedom, a sense of release on a metaphysical level. Here, the focus is not aesthetic brilliance or profound technique of rendition. Instead, it is important to acknowledge that a painting is indeed fundamentally obliged to exude something beyond all cliched physical properties and formal expectations.

Mona Singhania

Utsaha, or emotive energy in Sanskrit, plays a key role in the experience of rasa. Energy is inherent in the work of art, as much as it is in the viewer. The viewer has to be able to exude his/her own utsaha, a sensitive involvement towards a work of art. When this communication is successful, the rasa experience is born. And the rasa experience of every individual viewer is absolutely different. Mona’s painting, an oil-on-canvas titled ‘Calling’, portrays an almost androgynous, stylised figure that forthrightly encompasses the entire artwork, implying a highly-poignant, an utterly-emotional and an absolutely-climacteric soliloquy directed at the ever-mighty universe. The figure is in the midst of nothing but ether, so immaculately indicating the feeling of elevation that one might come to terms with through meditation; when the mind is amazingly quiet and receptive of constructive silence. As a contrast to the neutrality in the figure’s facial expression, the outstretched arms so perceptibly complete the narrative of the painting, the unmistakable narrative of gratifying surrender, the wholehearted relinquishment of the heart to the whims of the universe.

“That rasa is what art is all about may not be specifically stated in so many words by everyone, but in a very real sense, it is what a viewer is looking for in a work of art.”

This succinct statement by B.N. Goswamy, in his book entitled ‘Essence of Indian Art’, reinforces the persistency of a subtle yet profound mode of communication that one can encounter with an artwork; whereby the subjective notion of sheer physical beauty attains a state of meaninglessness as it allows the dominance of formless vibrations. Mona’s ‘Calling’, in all its simplicity, calls for nothing but great vibrations.

To view artworks by Mona Singhania email Gnani Arts at gnani_arts@yahoo.com.sg, or call 6735 3550.

Written by Vidhya Gnana Gouresan

“In order to see birds it is necessary to become a part of the silence.” ~ Robert Lynd

Aves Otium by Nandini Bajekal, oil on canvas, 2014

This insightful statement by Irish writer Robert Lynd aptly characterises Singapore-based artist Nandini Bajekal’s exceptional devotion and endearment towards the winged and feathered creation of God – the bird.

The soft-spoken artist, with her pair of tilted smiling lips, shares: “Painting for me is a spiritual experience. The beauty and grandeur of nature is a great source of inspiration. In the glory of nature, I find a deep sense of peace and happiness. My paintings explore the spectacular stories that the natural world reveals to us, stimulating us to love, nurture and protect nature.”

Nandini’s verbal revelation is substantiated by the fact that she is indeed a staunch bird-watcher, who relishes every living moment of the birds that she observes and studies with such great zeal and zest. Apparently and metaphorically, the ‘spectacular stories’ that the birds offer her, are re-contextualised into static but enticing visual manifestations within the frame of her canvas.

Nandini Bajekal

Nandini is armed with a Bachelors Degree in Applied Arts from Sir J J School of Art in Mumbai (India), and a Diploma in Cinema from Xaviers Institute of Communications in Mumbai. Having had lived in Southeast Asia, Europe and Africa for more than twenty years, Nandini has had her fair share of corporate practice as she has worked in the creative department of a major international advertising agency and as a dedicated freelance designer. Over the past twenty-five years, Nandini has travelled to several natural landscapes in India, Southeast Asia, Africa, Australia and South America. During such expeditions, Nandini mentions, “I sketch, paint and soak-in the sights and sounds of the natural world”. At this juncture, what is significant is Nandini’s determined pursuit in projecting her perceptions of the natural world via the creative mode of stylisation, and that too, with the tactful inclusion of geometry.

Triangle. This amazing shape defines the very basis of geometry. And geometry, defines the very essence of the formal rendition of cubism in art. Staying loyal to her beloved vertebrate-metaphor, Nandini has created an impressive work of art; an oil-on-canvas entitled Aves Otium (meaning ‘Bird Contemplating’ in Latin) which reverberates the vivacity of a grand three-angled perspective; in an undisputedly cubist manner. Red is matched with green, with due respect to their perpetual status as complimentary hues in basic colour theory. The bird – the hero of the painting, is able to maintain and exude an ethereal presence; a stance of understated grace amidst the expected rigidity of the interplay of geometry. Even the pupil of its eye accommodates a triangle; insinuating an alluring twinkle.

The notion of nature is as subjective as anything and everything that life can offer. An attempt to convincingly define nature is as ambitious as attempting to arrive at a supremely irrefutable explanation on what art is. It is indeed fascinating that the all-encompassing natural world comes quite naturally to Nandini.

To view Nandini Bajekal’s paintings, email to gnani_arts@yahoo.com.sg

Garden Sculpture by C.Dakshinamoorthy

I remember, at least eight years ago, during one of my casual discussions in his art studio in Chennai (Tamil Nadu, South India), C. Dakshinamoorthy had once mentioned that there are times when he gets absolutely entranced while creating his drawings, that he often but accidentally dips his paintbrush into his cup of tea instead of his bottle of ink. This, so lucidly and affably explains the modern master’s effervescent persona.

In 1943, Dakshinamoorthy was born in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Indeed, it is significant to note that he had won the Indian National Award in 1985. Dakshinamoorthy is appreciated internationally, for his charismatic granite sculptures of the female human being, chiseled in an engaging, stylistic demeanor that is unquestionably cubist. Trained in the Government College of Arts and Crafts in Chennai (1960-1966), he was formerly the Head of the Department of Ceramics in the same college. As a British Council Scholar in 1978, he was schooled in Advanced Print-Making at the Croydon College of Design and Technology (the United Kingdom). From 1989 to 1991, this eminent master was awarded a Senior Fellowship by the Department of Culture, Government of India. As a spontaneous progression that synchronised with his consistent, high-spirited art-making, he moved on to participate in group and solo exhibitions in London, Argentina, Croydon, Australia and Singapore. His works were part of the 9th International Triennale of Coloured Graphic Prints in Switzerland (1982), and the 7th International Small Sculpture Exhibition of Budapest, Hungary (1987).

As we honour Dakshinamoorthy as a modern master, one question proves to be fundamentally important – whose ‘modern’ are we referring to? There are numerous specificities within the scope of modernity in art – the artist-specific, the nation-specific, the city-specific, the medium-specific, the technique-specific, the genre-specific, the event-specific and even the sentiment-specific. In the context of the art history of modern South India, the term ‘modern’ denotes, not a chronological reference to what is believed to be the period of modern art in the conveniently-general context (1800 to 1970s, in the European art-historical perspective), but a prudent combination of the genre-specific and the artist-specific perspectives.

C. Dakshinamoorthy, as a modern master, belongs to a generation of progressive artists of the late 1950s and the early 1960s in Madras (current Chennai), the artistic centre of South India. It was indeed a significant period in time in the modern art history of India in general and specifically South India, whereby artists were on an undaunted search or pursuit to express the modernity within their thoughts and inspirations via the embracement of the rich artistic tradition that they were readily endowed with in India. The nature of the modernity in the art that was created in South India (Madras, in particular) during this time was indeed a very purposeful, meticulously-conceived expression of traditional idioms in a grammar that was relatively new or from a perspective that was contextually or conceptually different from the norm. It is in this very spirit that the modern masters of South India embraced and continue to embrace the modernity in the art that they create so magnificently, bringing about a symbiosis between masterly renditions of technical skill within the framework of religio-mythological iconography and a strong sense of freedom in the re-contextualisation of traditional modes into a modern grammar, that quite effortlessly speaks to the viewer in the international arena.

An artistic tradition that does nothing to honour its living legends, is as good as non-existent. And so, let us sing joyful songs of glory for Dakshinamoorthy, as he relentlessly continues to create contemporary magic on granite – the stone that embodies the gods of his tradition.

To view artworks by C. Dakshinamoorthy, visit www.gnaniarts.com or email to
gnani_arts@yahoo.com.sg.

By Vidhya Gnana Gouresan

left: Kabuki by Ika Forssell, 2014
washi paper and oil on canvas, 61 x 91 cm
right: Ika Forssell

There is a reason for every occurrence in one’s life. The subconscious mind never fails to document every tiny detail in the sentiments that we feel and in the things that we see during specific events and experiences in our current and past lives. In the same spirit, Ika Forssell’s unfathomable interest in Japanese heritage and culture is not accidental. Inspirations are never accidental.

Ika is a Swedish artist who is based in Singapore. She has traveled extensively and has lived in Brazil, Sweden and Japan. The artist, who quite instantaneously exudes a subtle sense of positive flamboyance, enjoys manipulating Japanese washi paper (organic, handmade paper) together with oil colours on her canvas. Ika’s on-going series of paintings entitled ‘Portraits’, was first exhibited at an art exhibition at the Norwegian Seamen’s Mission and Swedish Church in Singapore last year. As an extension to this series, Ika has created a compellingly expressive artwork, entitled Kabuki, in her combination of washi paper and oil on canvas.

Kabuki is a classical dance-drama of Japan, known and appreciated for its highly-dramatic stylisation and the intriguingly elaborate gear and make-up worn by its performers. Ika’s Kabuki is an indubitably confrontational artwork. The revelation of the single eye of the Kabuki performer – the all-encompassing subject of the painting – evokes the sense of an untold narrative; a secret that is destined to remain a timeless mystery. Red. Blue. White. Black. The chosen colour palette reflects a prudent decision to allow no distraction – for the subject, the viewer and the artist – from the perceived confrontation that is occurring within and through the painting. Here, what is being confronted is an open-ended matter that is clearly not the focus. Instead, it is the act and right to confront that is being theatrically-celebrated in Ika’s Kabuki. Staying true to the dance-drama’s heavily colour-oriented physical attributes, Ika’s careful, limited and calculated usage of washi paper as a compliment to the oil medium offers the viewer the much-needed and expected dramatisation.

Undoubtedly and unsurprisingly, there have been many artists across the globe who have been enchanted, enlightened and inspired by the enthralling art and culture of the Land of the Rising Sun. The Post-Impressionists (who belong to a late 19th century movement in modern art within the western context), prove to be a classic example. Indeed, the word ‘Japonism’ was termed in 1872, in order to refer to the influence of Japanese art on artists who hail from the western context. One cannot help but mention Post-Impressionist Vincent Van Gogh at this juncture, as his aesthetic obsession with Japanese art, particularly ukiyo-e (a genre of woodblock prints/paintings), continues to be a monumental point-of-reference in popular art history.

Coming back to Ika, it is important to mention her successful participation as a significant artist of the blockbuster exhibition, ‘The Global Icon: Ganesha in Fine Art’, which was presented by Gnani Arts in Singapore in May 2014. For this exhibition, which received stupendous media coverage and appreciation, Ika had created contemporary paintings of the popular Hindu god Ganesha, depicting him in convivial, worldly situations. What is fascinating is that her Ganesha paintings were created with washi paper, Indonesian batik and oil colours. On that note, it is indeed amiable and commendable to witness Ika’s growing commitment towards the embracement of multiculturalism, not only in her choice of medium, but also in her choice of concept and context.

To view artworks by Ika Forssell, visit www.gnaniarts.com or email to gnani_arts@yahoo.com.sg.

By Vidhya Gnana Gouresan

Ganesha by Kalpana Yuvarraaj, acrylic on canvas, 24 x 30 inch, 2013

Dance. I have always been absolutely fascinated by the nattuvangam, which is indeed the process whereby a nattuvanar vocalises rhythmic syllables by striking cymbals (made of metal) that resonate specific patterns of beat that synchronise with the movements of the dancer during a Bharatanatyam dance recital (Bharatanatyam is a popular Indian classical dance form with ancient origins).  These patterns of beat from the striking of the cymbals are used as rhythmic cues for the dancer who is simultaneously aware of the pulse of the nattuvangam as he/she performs the magnificent art form to a captive audience. Chance. I have had the chance to lay my glance on Ganesha, an alluring acrylic-on-canvas by Kalpana Yuvarraaj, which so elegantly characterises Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god, in the role of a nattuvanar; submerged into a state of immense concentration; oblivious to everything else but the rhythm of his cymbals pulsating into ether. One cannot help but applaud the artist for so prudently refraining from appointing Ganesha’s cymbals as the visual focus of the painting. Instead, the metaphorical portrayal of the kinetic energy of the aesthetic movement associated with nattuvangam takes centre-stage, through the dynamic rendition of zesty, ‘hyperactive’ strokes of texture.

Trance. Kalpana shares the motivation behind the conception of the painting, “I painted this in March 2013, during Natyanjali (an annual dance festival presented on a large scale at the Chidambaram Natarajar Temple in Tamil Nadu, South India). I thoroughly enjoyed the dance performances and it brought me into a trance. In this painting, my Ganesha is enjoying the cosmic dance and he is in a trance as he is in the process of nattuvangam.” As an extension to this statement by the artist, it is indeed intriguing to recognise that Ganesha’s gaze reflects a heightened state of blissful indulgence; a poignant moment of celestial intoxication. And of course, Mooshikan, the rat who is Ganesha’s mythological vehicle, is not forgotten, and is placed in a stance that guarantees salvation, at the feet of his master. The painting is exemplary in the sense that it carries the mellifluous transference of the trance of the artist to the trance of the subject in her painting. In turn, this feeling of a trance is so effectively felt by the on-looker.

Kalpana, an artist as well as a well-known entrepreneur, is currently pursuing a Doctorate in Social Entrepreneurship. She is a US State Alumni Post Graduate from the Madurai Kamaraj University (Tamil Nadu, South India). She was trained in the arts at Kothari Academy (1991) and the Julis Mcwan Institute (1994) and had further-trained with Kusum Debi (Princess of Bhuwaneshwar) and a number of Chinese artists in Singapore;  through several workshops in New York, London, New Delhi and Mumbai. Kalpana has participated in group and solo exhibitions  in Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington D.C. and Hong Kong. She is the proprietor of Kriya’s Dysn, a company that caters to private art collectors, corporations and public art spaces. Naturally, she has won prestigious awards in recognition of her work that combines creativity with sound entrepreneurship.
Let us continue to take the chance to dance in a joyful trance in the world of art that Kalpana invites us into. Dance. Chance. Trance.

Kalpana Yuvarraaj is an artist of ‘The Global Icon: Ganesha in Fine Art’, Gnani Arts’ blockbuster exhibition at ION Art Gallery (14 – 20 May 2014).
Visit www.gnaniarts.com or www.kriyasdysn.com