Mystics, Sadhus and Seekers
Acrylic on Indian Canvas
2023
178H x 107W cm
A scene from a dream of mine where a white fish is caught by hand from the depths and brought to the surface, where a figure waits under an upturned basket resembling the firmament from The Book of Genesis.
The White Fish
Acrylic and metallic paint on Italian Paper
2023
91H x 61.5W cm
This painting’s title, ’Aghor’, roughly translates as ‘free from fear’ or ‘fearless’ in Sanskrit, and references the Aghori branch of Tantric Shivaism. Aghori practices ritualistically address and sometimes break taboos (e.g. death and dirt) as a path to transcending illusionary, dualistic categories, leading to wholeness and liberation (moksha). From a western perspective, the Jungian Shadow at both a personal and collective level, comes to mind. I have painted a mystical take on an Aghori, with sacred robes, blissfully entwined with a hooded serpent - a symbol evoking Shiva, fear and healing. The fiery glow is from a nearby funerary pyre.
Aghor
Acrylic on Indian Canvas
2023
178H x 106W cm
A painting from a dream I recently had. I find fish dreams especially interesting, where the oceans are a symbol of the unconscious and its fish their primordial content. Carl Jung once wrote that “Like the sea itself, the unconscious yields an endless and self-replenishing abundance of living creatures, a wealth beyond our fathoming”.
Waters of the Night
Acrylic on Indian Canvas
2023
178H x 106W cm
Kaladhar is a mystical figure depicted in the painting, embodying time and eternity. He is of both the East and West and cloaked in sacred robes, whose golden tri-part motif is inspired by ‘The Priest of Mohenjo- daro’ statue, dated from 2000-3000 BCE from the Indus Valley Civilisation.
This figure is a guardian of the temporal realms and the cycles which govern the cosmos. He has the tranquility and wisdom of one who has witnessed the unfolding of ages. As such, he’s part seer, sage, mystic, prophet, priest, mage, hermit, and astrologer. The painting is also inspired in part by C.G. Jung's 'Aion', in his Collected Works Vol. 9 Part 2.
Kaladhar
Acrylic on Italian Paper
2023
60.5H x 60W cm
A shrouded a fmystic holds a candle in the darkness against a backdrop of rich golds. ‘Aion’ is suggestive of the Ages and very long stretches of time.
Aion
Acrylic and metallic paint on Italian Paper
2023
59.5H x 56.5W cm
The painting shows an archetypal mage against a glowing golden moon. The figure appeared in a dream as a British nobleman of the deep future robed in futuristic Indian finery. The glowing shards behind his shoulder are very tall buildings, hundreds of storeys high. The dream was set in another world with a deep red glow at night.
Night of the Mage
Acrylic on Italian Paper
2023
150H x 110W cm
In the vastness of the desert night, "The Mystic's Soul" captures a moment of connection. Draped in saffron robes that echo the desert's mystical landscape, a mystic sits beneath a magical moon. With outstretched hand, the he engages in silence with an approaching magpie. The moon illuminates the scene, casting a gentle glow on the mystic's weathered features, etched with the wisdom of countless desert nights. This painting, with its soft dunes and tranquil ambiance, invites contemplation on the connections that transcend language and culture in the hushed stillness of the desert.
The Mystic’s Soul
Acrylic on Italian Paper
2023
60.5H x 59W cm
In the painting "Grahana," a mystic stands with hand raised before a full eclipse. The celestial event unfolds as a cosmic backdrop, symbolising the mystic's connection with the cosmos. The artwork captures a moment of communion between the earthly and the celestial.
Grahana
Acrylic and Metallic Paint on Italian Paper
2023
60.5H x 90W cm
A symbolic silhouette soars against the sun towards the golden heavens, embodying the soul’s journey from earth to sky.
Hamsa
Acrylic on Canvas
2023
165H x 84W cm
The Vedic goddess, Ratri, is the personification of the night and counterpart to her sister, Ushas, the dawn.
Ratri
Acrylic on Italian Paper
2023
91H x 60.5W cm
The Aghori Shaivite stands covered in ashes and entwined in a white cobra.
Aghori
Acrylic on Italian Paper
2022
110H x 75W cm
Sandhya at the Western Gate
Acrylic on Indian Canvas
2023
161H x 85W cm
This painting is inspired by two worlds in ancient India that existed about 2000 years ago - the first being that of high civilisations and the second being the world of forest / mountain dwelling hermits and ascetics. This theme is beautifully explored in Rabindranath Tagore’s ‘Religion of the Forest’. The yellow robed holy man in the foreground has long ago renounced the household for the unity of the jungle and has reached his enlightened state, as symbolises by the blooming lotus flower and golden paint glaze I applied over opaque paint layers. The dark forest behind his left shoulder is his world. The woman in her sari is from the world of urbanity, with earthenware pots at the sage’s feet as symbols of domesticity. Devdutt Pattanaik’s ‘My Gita’ gives a neat summary of this theme in its introductory chapter:
“Two thousand years ago, South Asia was torn between two extremes. On one side were kings who established great empires, such as those of the Nandas, Mauryas, Sungas, Kanvas, Satavahanas, Kushans and Guptas, which heralded great prosperity but also involved great violence. On the other side were hermits (shramanas) such as the Jains, the Ajivikas and the Buddhists, who spoke of the household as the place of suffering and sought solace in the solitude offered by monasteries (viharas). More and more people, including kings, were choosing the hermit’s way of life over marriage, family vocation and family responsibilities, causing great alarm. Chandragupta Maurya embraced Jainism, His grandson, Ashoka, embraced Buddhism.”
This evolves a broader theme - humanity’s tension between the sedentary and the nomadic, and what our world of today and tomorrow looks like when viewed from this perspective.
Tyaag
Acrylic on Indian Canvas
2023
57H x 58W cm
Maya
Acrylic on Italian Paper
2022
150H x 96W cm
As the ten-headed Rakshasa king of the epic Ramayana, Ravana’s eventual slaying by Rama amounted to a violent end for a complex and enigmatic figure. Despite his failings, Ravana also had numerous admirable traits: he was an accomplished scholar, astrologer, an adept ruler and a devotee of Shiva. He has been painted with a Jungian perspective in mind - his ten heads reflecting this multi-faceted nature that also underpins the universal human psyche. The skull in this right hand symbolises his demonic side and ultimate demise.
Lankapati Ravana
Acrylic on Indian Canvas
2023
92H x 70W cm
Shade Keepers
Acrylic on Italian Paper
2022
150H x 110W cm
The revered sage Vasishtha sits on the left singing the seventh book (Mandala) of the Rigveda, which he composed.
The visitor to the right seeks Vasishtha's wise counsel. Vasishtha holds a seven petaled lotus flower - a symbol of his stature as one of seven Saptarishis and as a reference to the Rigveda text he authored.
Vashishtha’s Hymns of the Seventh Mandala
Acrylic on Italian Paper
2023
91H x 60.8W cm
In 'Kanyadaan,' a father hands over his daughter in an Indian wedding, embodying tradition, love, and a poignant transition in familial ties.
Kanyadaan
Acrylic on Indian Canvas
2022
31H x 32.5W inches
The god of transitions, gateways, boundaries, time, beginnings and endings feels appropriate for our current turning of history. One face looks to the deep past whilst the other faces the future and the constellation Auriga, ‘The Charioteer’, as a new sun breaks the horizon.
Bharatia Janus and Auriga
Acrylic on Indian Canvas
2023
170H x 100.5W cm
Shiva stands mid-dance with his typical symbols: coiled serpents around his figure, his Trishula (trident), crescent moon adorning his head, damaru drum beating a rhythm of creation and destruction and his third eye, wide open. The Shiva Lingam is painted in overlapping plan view and side elevation, to the bottom left in Cobalt Teal and rich Indian yellow. His flowing hair represents the sacred River Ganga.
Mahākāla is one of Shiva’s fierce manifestations where he is a void capable of consuming space and time itself. According to Hindu cyclical time, Mahākāla dissolves the universe at the conclusion of a Kalpa (4.32 billion years). The underpainting is in characteristic dark blues with lighter earth tones on top to give a primordial and emergent feel. The painting is also a take on the ‘White Mahākāla’, who in Tibetan Buddhism eliminates spiritual and material poverty through wrathful, compassionate ferocity.
Mahakala The Lord of Time
Charcoal and Watercolour on Paper
2020
42H x 29W cm
Five Avatars of Vishnu
Acrylic on Indian Canvas
2022
174H x 93W cm
The ultimate Earthly source, Surya, the Sun, pulsates in fiery reds and oranges by the ‘one- toothed’, Ekadanta, who holds his broken tusk in one of his four hands.
This painting is inspired by tribal and folk depictions of Ganesha presenting him as a more svelte figure than the numerous full-figured depictions. His trunk reaches to the left to sample a delicacy from one of his left arms as per his traditional iconography.
Ekadanta is one of Lord Ganesha’s eight names mentioned in the ancient Amarakosha, a Sanskrit wordbook written by the Indian scholar Amarasimha, who was one of the Navaratnas (‘nine gems’) in the court of the Gupta Dynasty Emperor, Vikramaditya, around 400CE.
Ekdanta by the Rhythmic Sun
Acrylic on Indian Canvas
2023
91H x 61.3W cm
A man and woman stand within the cosmic drama, a bird soaring between them as a soulful messenger. The mystical heavens paint a backdrop alive with stars and cosmic energy, symbolising the connection shared between the two earthly souls. This painting speaks to the beauty of a celestial bond, with the universe itself as witness to interconnectedness.
Beloved
Acrylic on Italian Paper
2022
110H x 150W cm
"Bhojan Paani Vishranti" captures a scene as old as the human story itself, featuring three people sharing a meal and drink in communal harmony. The painting embodies the essence of everyday life, celebrating the simplicity found in shared moments of sustenance.
Bhojan Paani Vishranti
Acrylic on Italian Paper
2023
150H x 97W cm
"Jugalbandi" captures the synergy of sitar and sarod in a classical duet, set against a regal court backdrop. The term, rooted in Sanskrit, signifies not only a musical dialogue but also the convergence of 'twin souls' in the realm of Hindustani classical music.
Jugalbandi
Acrylic on Italian Paper
2022
110H x 150W cm
This painting shows the 3rd/4th century BCE ancient Indian master of statecraft, strategy, geopolitics, alchemy and much much more, foreshadowing the imminent demise of the Nanda Empire with his close allies and associates.
Chanakya aided the rise of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, who founded the Maurya Empire in 322 BCE.
Betwixt Chanakya and the Nanda’s Nightfall
Acrylic on Italian Paper
2022
150H x 110W cm
Nrutika
Charcoal, Watercolour and Acrylic on Paper
2020
42H x 29W cm