SPIRITUAL CONNOTATIONS
Self- taught artist Aiyana Gunjan presents a unique amalgamation of calligraphy and abstract art in her first solo exhibition ‘ The Moving Finger’
Artist Aiyana Gujan combines calligraphy with contemporary dimension of abstraction using various religious and spiritual texts in her first solo exhibition titled “The Moving Finger”. Aiyana says, “I paint, not to decorate walls, but to break the walls from within. My creative journey is an expression of my spiritual growth. I express it through my paintings –— the depth, the dimension, the perspectives of life and everything within.”
She uses verses and lines from various religious scriptures in her paintings but what gives them a unique flavour is the use of calligraphy in English scripts. Aiyana says, “As a child I loved using an ink pen and calligraphy as a medium rekindled my love for ink. In a way it provides a poetic rhythm to my work. I have used verses from religious text in English, so that the viewer can easily understand and connect with it.”
Talking about why she has taken ancient traditional form of calligraphy into the universal language of contemporary art of abstraction, she states, “When you face death, the world of forms dissolve. This took me to a world beyond forms and boundaries — into abstraction. Calligraphy acted as bridge between abstract and the different forms.”
She worked in an advertising agency before taking up art as a full- time career option. “Art acted as a medium of soul- searching after I came face- toface with death in my early 30s,” shares Aiyana and adds, “I took to Nicheren Diashonin Buddhism and got connected to The Mother and Sri Aurobindo’s Integral Yoga. These experiences brought me closer to the depth and expanse of life beyond the limits of the logical mind. It’s my spiritual training rather than an art degree that has empowered me as an artist. My art has been a very meditative and spontaneous process. It’s my joy and sanity quotient and it centres my being.”
Curated by eminent art historian Dr Alka Pande, the show includes more than 100 works. Aiyana says, “The exhibition presents my journey as an artist in the last 10 years. Most of my art are series- based and Alka has ensured to include works from all of them. Surprisingly, the show also includes my very first painting. My teacher, veteran artist Shobha Broota, told me that my first solo exhibition looks like a retrospect, for which I promptly replied that ‘ it’s an introspective series’.” Talking about Aiyana and her works, Alka Pande states, “Aiyana is a self- taught artist who took up the calligraphy pen and explored it in its myriad manifestations. She has taken calligraphy to the level of fine art and created a body of work which is deeply spiritual, secular and inwardlooking. Her works speak the language of a meditative silence and move along the contours of her personal space. The title of the show is inspired by Omar Khayyam’s Rubaiyat and captures the essence of Aiyana’s highly introspective work.” Her work titled ‘ Day And Night’, a vertical watercolour and ink created in 2011, depicts the Buddhist concept of ‘ Ichinen Sanzen’ - meaning past, present and future in one single moment while she uses bold stokes inspired by the Arabic scripture in her work titled ‘ Aspiration’, combining her love for pen and watercolour. The ‘ I Am’ series is a introspective works where she has transcribed the entire Shivoham song in the English script in the shape of a circle or bindi using a calligraphy pen. She says, “I am a Shiva devotee and Shiva is the energy behind all creation, destruction and recreation in this world. The work is about coming a full circle of life and getting closer to an unbounded consciousness of what life and death.”
Her works speak the language of a meditative silence and move along the contours of her personal space
DR ALKA PANDE,
CURATOR