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The third eye of Shiva

Satish Gupta / New Delhi March 24, 2007

Artist and now sculptor Satish Gupta on the inspiration behind his mammoth copper Shiva, from his equally impressive bookCentering Awareness.

Shiva has 1,008 names for all the complex energies he represents, which are sometimes diametrically opposite and paradoxical. He is viewed as an erotic-ascetic, the destroyer and one who resurrects, gentle yet fearsome, god of life and death, protector and vanquisher, both an ally and opponent of time. But with its non-dualistic viewpoint the text names Shiva as Bhairav. It is the name given to the nature of Shiva as the Absolute Reality.

This Zen way of thinking has been a great inspiration for me since the time I was a student in Paris and came across a tattered book �Zen Flesh, Zen Bones� by Paul Reps, in a second hand bookshop on the banks of Seine... This was my first introduction to Zen philosophy, a major turning point in my life.

At that time it gave many answersto my young inquisitive mind, but more importantly it posed a thousand new questions like Devi�s questions to Shiva. After all these years I am no longer searching for answers. I have realised that life�s questions themselves contain the answers. They are like riddles or Zen koans to which there are no right or wrong answers. The important thing is to be centred in �The Now�.

�I am manifesting the universe in my consciousness I am the creator, being of the nature of everything.�

In the words of Swami Laxman Joo, �Bhairav is pure I-consciousness (Aham), which is therefore resounding in every consciousness, in every being. He pervades, sustains and absorbs the universe. He liberates one from fear (Bhaya), of the Cosmos (Samsara) and illuminates everything with his light (Bha).

I took this as a point of departure when I conceived of the Shiva sculpture. I had wanted to sculpt Shiva for many years as an all pervasive Divine Reality transcending time, space and eternity, and this text was the spark which actually started the creative process. Years and years back at the age of fourteen, I visited the yet unspoilt shore temple at Mahabalipuram...I also saw Chola bronzes in Tamil Nadu museums that were tremendously inspiring. Later, when I was in Paris, the encounter at Musee Guimet with the Khmer sculptures was a revelation. All these early impressions have now converged into the creation of the Shiva sculpture.

Recently, I went to Cambodia and visited Angkor (880 AD) and other contemporary temples... When confronted with the monolithic sculptures at Bayon in various stages of decay, I could not help but feel a tremendous sense of time standing still, motionless, eternal and yet transient.

The massive Buddha/Shiva sculptures... looking down at you, some with their eyes closed have a serene tranquil expression, which comes alive with the play of sunlight... What fascinated me most was Shiva�s third eye of higher perception which looks inward and also the half closed meditating eyes which have found expression in my sculpture.

... It took over a year working with my dedicated team of welders and assistants to create this sculpture. It was a spontaneous and perhaps a painful process since I did very few drawings, calculations or preparatory plans. I just took a copper wire and sheets and started building it rather intuitevely.

The sculpture weighs more than half a ton and is 12 feet tall. It is composed of over 15,000 square pieces of copper of about an inch to two inches square in size welded together. I have used copper because it is a noble metal with warmth which ages gracefully. The patina gives it an added timeless quality.

At times it was a frustrating process since even a few pieces welded wrongly would distort the expression and it was very difficult to un-weld (but I often consoled myself by reminding myself that I was sculpting Shiva � the creator and the destroyer) but it was also a tremendously rewarding experience.

One night after a hard days�s work, having finished working on his eyes, I was tired and ready to call it a day. In the light of the dusk I saw Shiva smiling with his eyes and encouraging me to go on. After that it was magical, as if he was telling me where to go, almost directing the whole process. I let go. The sculpture dfinished itself from that point onwards.

In a sense each welded copper piece is like a throbbing cell in Shiva�s timeless body, taking birth by going through fire, heating, melting and cooling. I had to handle them with care and reverence. The square pieces are the micro in his all pervasive macro presence.

They are the matrix, his vital breath and energy, his Prana or Chi as the Chinese call it. They are the life-force, the coming in and going out of breath. Unifying diverse elements, concepts, thoughts and actions, each copper piece took a life of its own. How each piece interacted with the others was the challenge.

Above all, by being aware of the unity of it all, by making an effort to centre my mind and surrender my ego, I have experienced pure joy, heard the primal sound of creation � Om � reverberating through the universe and for brief moments become one with the divine reality.

FIXED ON THE INWARD GAZE
For one week, Satish Gupta�s copper Shiva head held centre-stage at the Visual Arts Gallery, but found a buyer at a stiff Rs 1.5 crore. But Shiva was not the only spellbinding work at the exhibition �Gupta�s book, Centering Awareness, for Rs 27,500, might have been expensive by most standards, but considering each of the 700 copies was accompanied by a copper plate cast by the artist, and contained a signed work of art as part of the book, it was a steal.

Where is the Shiva headed?
The (anonymous) buyer is taking it to a home in the mountains. That was very important to me � that it not be kept in an enclosed space. To me, the sculpture is like Swayambhu, self-created; it�s just something that flowed through me.

Visitors say it looks like Buddha.
That�s what I�ve said in the book, that its inspiration has been Angkor Wat, where they have carved Shiva�s third eye on Buddha. For me, everything the Buddha represents is in Shiva. And I�ve chosen the Kalyanasundara or his marriage phase which is not normally seen.

Of your various artistic phases � Zen, Thar, spiritual � which have you enjoyed most?
My art is a direct reflection of what I�m feeling. Even my desert collection, which many labelled decorative, is part of me. I don�t want to be branded in any one slot, but breaking out has not been conscious. And what links all my work despite its variety is tranquillity, that inward gaze.

Are you now going to go through a �sculpture� phase?
I enjoyed doing this, and see myself doing more over the next two-three years.

How long was Shiva in the making?
It took 30 years as a concept, two years of work and one year of sweat. Now I�m going to Tirupati both to offer the book and look for inspiration from Balaji to do a sculpture of Vishnu. Together, then, they�ll make Hari-Hara.

� Kishore Singh

RATE OF THE ART - CX SATISH GUPTA
This work Shiva in copper, 12�, Rs 1.5 crore
Average canvases Rs 2-15 lakh
Auction highs Rs 12 lakh (Times Online); Rs 16 lakh (Khushii)
Investment value High for Zen series, limited for his Thar work
Strengths Changes styles dramatically; is marketing savvy
Weaknesses Low consistency; seen as too decorative

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Updated:20-11-09 19:05 hrs IST