NATIONAL GALLERY OF MODERN ART
2019
The iconic ‘Lingam Benches’ - and framed in between, the ‘Intersect Stool’.
Pieces embodying the pinnacle of permanence of Indian craft, produced by Atelier Ashiesh Shah.
ASTHI
Mahatma Gandhi’s ashes (lent from the collection of Shri Kishore Jhunjhunwala) finds solace, amongst weightless white marble and resin. An octagonal pedestal laden with ‘The Intersect Stool,’ is covered with a glass vitrine by Klove. The entire assembly is a play of perspectives, characterised by presence and absence, drawing from the divine being himself. A space of contentment and tranquility completes itself with the sculptural ‘Lingam Benches.’ A ray of light cuts through the installation casting a perfectly centred halo.
Art, and craft, can contribute to the silence, and serenity, of space: as displayed by the ‘Intersect Stool’, placed in tribute at NGMA - honoring one of the founding fathers of our nation, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.
THE SHANTI TOTEM
The ‘Father of The Nation,’ reflected through ‘The Shanti Totem,’ characterizes itself with skin coloured terracotta disks, enveloped in off-white channapatna beads, softened at the edges, replicating Gandhi’s hand-woven ‘Khadi’ attire. Shanti, ‘peace force,’ is driven through the tranquility of the coloured beads, perfectly imperfect in stature. Each piece, moulded by hand, pays homage to the handicrafts of India, the epitomes of wabi-sabi that find likeness to the beliefs of our practice.
The lanky yet well composed height, runs up to 1.64m, a handcrafted embodiment of the visionary himself.
