September 2008
Group show curated by Dr. Alka Pande
Presented by Teamwork films at Sandton Civic Art Gallery
Nelson Mandela Square, South Africa.
Artist’s Statement – Satyagraha
Peace emerges amidst darkness of violent blood and gore. The delicate fabric in its ‘raw’ state [organza] entwined with the wire mesh represents a fragile nature of being versus unrelenting rigidity, and control. The wire mesh is a metaphor for confinement, Red, orange and pink [fabrics] represent strong emotions symbolizing bloodshed, anger and resentment. Black is evocative of darkness of death, despair and discrimination and the gauze bandage is reminiscent of wounds.
Satyagraha I attempts to encapsulate and express the process through which Satyagraha and non-violence emerged, signifying peace in our troubled times as a natural corollary to terror, if wisdom is allowed to speak.
The shadow on the peace symbol implies that issues fought by both Gandhi and Mandela are still under a veil of darkness.
Gopika Nath
