circus

One drop of light destroys the entire silence of the darkness; it eliminates the negative forces and welcomes the new and positive spirit. Therefore, it is an important role in the celebrations of life. If God creates the natural light, then human being creates the artificial light, as a declaration of scientific invention. India is a land of colourful festivals from its ancient times. It is fascinating to observe that how the wave of technical evolutions are becoming a part of these traditional practices. The decorative light series replace the old oil lamps and attract the viewer’s eyes through its illumination. It is surely a new iconography of traditional festivals and actually during this time the entire landscape can be assume only on the basis of these colourful dots. Being a person belongs to the city of Kolkata, from my childhood, I have witnessed the huge gates of festivals (especially in Durga puja, Kali puja, Jagatdhatri puja and other occasions) consist of the multi coloured lights, almost resemblance a fabric made of colourful threads. A place called Chandannagar, near to Kolkata is renowned for the making of these colossal gates. Interestingly, not only within Bengal, but the installation of these become popular in the other regions of India also. These vibrant entrances are one of the dominant motifs of my works. The representation of Its overpowering existence as an industrial product, over the city landscape, appear again and again. The beautiful play between the radiance and blackness is something, which actually inspires my thought process. ARPITA KAR