Ode to femininity

Different philosophies emerge from different religions but they are all essentially the same. It would be beautiful if we all could rise above the differences and view it from a secular eye,” says artist Shampa Sircar Das. Her last collection was inspired by the Buddhist philosophy, and now she is out with her new exhibition ‘Devi’.

This exhibition is a celebration of the power of femininity. “I believe there is so much conflict, imbalance and upheaval in this world because it is overflowing with masculine energy which focuses on conquering and conquests. What we need is the feminine energy that can restore the balance on this planet,” she explains. We need to let things thrive, which this force is about, she adds.

‘Devi’ was conceived by Das while travelling in West Bengal. “I read an article about two girls who refused to marry men because they were demanding dowry. That kind of a force can be connected to goddess Kali. It is a force of revolution and transformation,” she says, mentioning that it led her to start reading for the series which took two years of research and a year of creative work.

“Being a Bengali, Devi has been an integral part of my life. This also led me to create this series,” Das says referring to her paintings that focus on Indian goddesses like Sita, Saraswati, Laxmi, Durga, Bhuvneshwari, Bhairavi, Radha and Gayatri.

Another important
theme that emerges in these paintings is ‘Mahabhuta’ – the five elements – fire, earth, water, air and space. “These elements make everything, be it our bodies or the universe which shows that there is a uniformity that exists in all the beings. We have somehow in the process of our evolution forgotten this and that also brings about the imbalance in the world,” she adds.

Working in acrylic, she says that both the themes — ‘Mahabhuta’ and ‘feminine energy’ are her ways of depicting “imbalance in the world”.

“This work is a combination of philosophy, technique and aesthetics. The technique is also influenced by the philosophy. I start with patches of colour. These patches come together and after layering of colours, the painting emerges as a homogenous whole. Just like our life is made of several incidences, these paintings are a result of these patches and layering,” Das elaborates.

Devi will be on at Sridharani Art Gallery from September 18 till September 27. The show will then travel to Gallery Art Positive at Lado Sarai from September 29
to October 30,