Artworks inspired by 'ash' signify notions of life and death

Delhi-based artist G R Iranna has used different forms of ash to create paintings and installations in his attempt to understand the 'ephemeral' nature of life.
Titled "Ether is all that is", the exhibition tells the universal truth of "everything turning into dust".
"Ash has its own value and fits very well into the idea of the 'form and formless'. This idea has been a part of my work for many years. I have dealt with the notion of life and death, violence and peace in different ways," says Irana.
The show represents the transitory state of everything one values in life.

"I've dwelled upon the transient aspect of life for far too long. The loss of my loved one propelled me to go deeper into the subject, and that's how the story line of this show was framed," says Iranna.
In his art pieces, actual ash and charcoal have been transformed into cubes, dust and further mixed with acrylic medium.

"The usage decides the sensibility of the work. Somewhere the ash has just been dusted while at several other places actual cubes have been used. I have thoroughly enjoyed using this material and have exploited it the way I wanted to," he says.

The artist who started with charcoal powder and then moved on to using cement as a medium decided to work exclusively with ash, which he believes is even "stronger than cement".
"Without using ash, I was conveying the similar idea through other medium and concepts. The idea of everything turning into dust, comes into fruition in the exhibition," he says.
Based on the same theme, Irana displayed a set of his works at Kochi Biennale- international contemporary art exhibition this year.
The exhibition will continue till March 8 at Gallery Espace here.