This ambitious work is born out of an intense and intrinsic exploration of fire, and its alluding metaphorical connotations shared by humanity. Its connection to the other four elements – water, air, earth, space; and the notion of primordial substances which amalgamate to create material realities is reflected. ‘Out of the Fire, Into the Ashtray’ (2024) is built on the idea of knowledge of objects and their meanings and associated values (which is given by us and is immaterial). What meaning do we give to the funeral pyre and associated values, as compared to the meanings of the metaphorical ashtray or the life of a cigar?
My work, however, is not detached from personal history and experience, albeit it is not religious, but ideological, philosophical, spiritual, poetic, and mystical, which help stimulate the mental and emotional agencies of my audience. The funeral pyre, although it might mean and look different to different people, is a culturally sensitive idea, which is leading me into thinking of wider contexts concerning humanity, such as the environment, society, class, equality – and alluding to themes of life, death, ephemerality, cosmos, mysticism and cultural nuances, my work transforms quickly and is multidisciplinary. This artwork serves my interests in combining visual, literary, and aesthetic elements, combining languages (Hindi, Sanskrit, English) with calligraphic arts into an immersive space, which responds to varied themes on and below the surface – to body and soul. My aim is to invoke, evoke and reflect the human condition, countering through my art implicitly, in details of spiritual and mystic persuasions.
At the end, all walls will be painted back to white. The artwork was born in this space and will ‘die’ in this space, safely returning to its original state, exactly enacting the purpose of this work. The soul of the artwork remains.