LALITHA
SHANKAR
Untitled (2018)
"Having been both a student and teacher of Yoga, its influence on my early works have been at the level of the gross body. With that as a starting point, my later works offer more subtle interpretations, delving into abstract notions of 'consciousness' and 'reality'. They explore the realm of consciousness both in terms of stages of consciousness and states of consciousness. My works are interpretations of a content influenced by my cultural environment with my body and mind as reference points. The sculpture is part of a series more about the 'experiencing' of the concepts that I work with."
The sculpture is part of a series that is about the 'experiencing' of the concepts of the work. In an organic amalgamation of geometric forms, textures and all the available colours of stone, this sculpture beckons the viewer to engage with its formal space and structure and offers interaction in a sense of any person being able to walk into the sculptural space, feel the surfaces, experience the colours and sounds and hopefully be induced into both reflection and introspection, ultimately leading towards a mind-body connection.
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Shankar's sculptures are known for their visual and tactile sensibility, minimalism, clean sharp lines and earthy hues that borrow from nature. Through an embodiment of abstract concepts, she explores the complex relationships between line, form, scale and space, light and shadow, simplifying them for a viewer to enter into. Each of the geometric shapes or colours are that she has used is representative, the square represents the earth, the triangle represents procreation, the circle represents birth, the rectangles represent birth and death.
"The works have to touch the viewer visually, impact them in some way,... The very idea of 'Looking In' is to both look at the physical level as well as offer a way of looking into oneself with the idea of 'who are you'," she avers.