ALTARS & ICONS

The very word "ICONS" brings to mind devotional paintings of Christ or another holy figure, typically on wood, venerated in the Byzantine and other Eastern churches. A personal icon would be a person or a thing regarded as a representative symbol or as worthy of veneration, reverence, great respect or adoration - a image which has a characteristic in common with the thing it signifies. The very word icon originates from the Greek word 'eikon' meaning a "image" or "likeness".

A personal Icon - it could be whatever you venerate. It was wide open to interpretation except the fact that it had to be created in a finite space - a altar. We sent two of these to every artist. The brief to each artist was to create add, subtract, paint, print, scratch, sculpt, install, etc, or do away with it and go on to any other preferred medium.

The response is phenomenal.

ARUNKUMAR HG BOSE KRISHNAMACHARI GANESH GOHAIN KARL ANTAO POOJA IRANNA PRAMOD KUMAR PRATUL DASH PRITAM BHATTY PRITHPAL LADI PUNEET KAUSHIK RAJENDRA KAPSE REGHUNANDHAN K SANTANA GOHAIN

ARUNKUMAR HG LOVE

It was an interesting proposition from Gallery Beyond to ask a set of artists, what would they do with altars as their art work?

Certainly it's going to be interesting to see how each artists have used these altars in their art practice. Whatever you put in this little space, it will automatically become something sacred, since this space has been widely used to put your beliefs in it. The beliefs one would have could be in any form or shape, or it could be something from a collective practice. When I was confronted with this idea of altar I was little puzzled about this space, I asked myself honestly what is that in me could take this sacred space of this altar, At the end I could come up only with the concept of 'Love'. I did not want to give any shape to it since it has no shape, size, colour, etc.

GANESH GOHAIN "COLOUR WITHIN" 2011 - 2012 NEWSPAPER, GOLD FOIL, ACRYLIC GOLD, POLISH BRONZE

Using paper as colour on the outer surface, gold foil and gold colour in the inner surface, a textured ring, which while I was making it, seemed to be chanting, insisting that I look and accept my existence. Nobody can be perfect, yet, we all work at it with a sense of colour within

KARL ANTAO " SEE AND FEEL ME IN NATURE"

When the Altar was placed as a concept to work on at a camp at Goa, one of the artist put a object in it which disturbed me and made me think. "What would happen if it was a structure of another religion? Does fundamentalist fear keep people from playing around?" It made me relook, as a spectator, observing the word Freedom and coming to the conclusion that "Man is in the image and likeness of God" This work is just that, however much one distorts, desecrates..... it is the feeling of the belief that matters.

POOJA IRANNA

'The alter has been done on the lines of celebration.

It is celebrating my personal connection with the supreme that guides each day of my life. It has numerous names and endless description, thus I have chosen to leave the core vacant.'

PRATUL DASH DIFFERENCES

The world is made of differences. A form appears due to its difference with other forms. Red is red because of its difference with other colours. A mountain is a mountain because of its difference with other forms. Souls and consciousness exist because of their difference from others of the rank. If differences were not there, nothing would appear visible, nothing would in fact, exist. (Derrida has said the same.)

Paradoxically, much trouble has happened in the world due to this fact of these differences; colour of the skin, linguistic and cultural differences, geographical positioning of individuals, food and nutrition, gender inequality, economic imbalance, colonization, imperialism, ethnic cleansing, etc.

PUNEET KAUSHIK WE ARE OUR OWN GOD.

the untouched inner natural self , our own conscience, is the beauty we need to explore , as we live in this world of material desires. and deal with emotional, financial and mental baggage we owe an answer to our self's

SANTANA GOHAIN

"UNTITLED"2011-2012 ACRYLIC, FRENCH CHALK, ENGRAVING ON WOOD

A space which is known and unknown

A space which existed,

A space which has changed!

But the history remains!