This project addresses the intersection between traditional and contemporary art practices while also discussing and emphasizing resonances across traditions. I aim to honour and engage with the traditional cultural framework of Yoga/Sanatan Dharma, inspired by my personal practice of many years while translating the concepts and geometric symbolism of the 7-Chakra system into a contemporary personalized interpretation. Using hand-mulled watercolour paint from natural pigments, I have intentionally selected those with cosmological and alchemical connections to the residing planet in each chakra. The geometric grid showing through the paint to describe the process, was established using traditional Islamic and European geometric techniques. Thus, the images maintain a visual harmony according to principles found throughout nature and point toward universal architecture in All things.
This series is comprised of 14 paintings in two parts, created in my final year BFA Visual Arts studio course at UBC Okanagan. In Part One, I am working directly as prescribed by visionary artists of the past through the text ‘Chakras: Energy Centres of Transformation’ by Harish Johari, a renowned Yogic Scholar and Philosopher. I have, however, left out the figural depictions from the text and focused on the geometric symbolism. I acknowledge I would not be able to re-create this imagery with the attention and intention it deserves within the framework of this current project. However, the geometry is sufficient for the symbolism to be present. Part two of the series is much larger than the former and is painted on wood panels. The wood provided an absorbent surface, which was ideal for the watercolour, and the grain shows through the paint, adding tonal variance and optical movement. Discovering new methods to depict the inherent symbolism for each chakra was a challenging task but made for many exciting moments as they arrived serendipitously as I worked.
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