Exhibition explores aesthetics of temple murals through themes, characters of Hindu mythology

New Delhi: It all started when Hyderabad-based artist Arpitha Reddy saw an elephant leading the procession at the Tirumala temple. Inspired by the 'namam' tilak on the forehead of the elephant, Reddy decided to paint a series dedicated to the Hindu mythological symbol.

The 'Namam' series of 16 paintings in different colours is part of the ongoing 'Vishwatma' exhibition by Reddy at Bikaner House. "The namam, which I saw on an elephant's head, which took the shape and form of the temple of the elephant. That was my inspiration behind the series called the Namam series. You generally see a namam, the Vishnu tilak, in either a sharp V or a U.

Here it has taken very graceful curves. That haunted me for quite some time," Reddy told PTI. While she learned the craft of Kerala murals in the original mineral colours, her paintings now are created using acrylic colours on canvas due to "convenience and practicality". The exhibition features a series of works that have been created as small studies of divine and sacred symbols. It also showcases elements, portraits of important rituals, gods and goddesses. Another set of 15 paintings is an assemblage of 'Sumangala', depicting symbols such as the lotus, the conch shell, the chakram, the sun and the moon, among others. Reddy has also depicted Dashavataras, the ten primary avatars of Vishnu.

Talking about Reddy's work, curator Uma Nair said that the hallmark of the exhibition is the "gleaning of legends and little epithets". "Arpitha's imagery is suffused with borders and textile elements that reveal her love for studying techniques of kalamkari and other older textile traditions and handlooms. The intricate details and embellishments of borders, flowers and ornamentation of figures all create a conversation of mural traditions brought forward," Nair said. Along with the series of paintings, depicting the symbols, the tilak, and Dashavatara; Reddy has featured a total of 50 paintings at the exhibition, including 'Panchmukhi Ganpathi', 'Gajendra Moksha', 'Mahidhara', 'Padmanabha', 'Varaha Roopam' and a few other figurative images of gods and goddesses. The exhibition will come to a close on October 25.