CIRCUS OF THE ABSURD - CATALOG

I have tried to explore the strange relationship between our inner soul which is pure and divine,
and the physical world in which circumstantial forces are at play and dilemmas abound.
Sometimes a feeling of despair overwhelms us, and sometimes our inner strength and truth wins.
It seems as though sentiments of lust, anger, fear and envy have taken physical forms and exist amidst us.
In this series of works, there are clowns performing various acts in a circus, along with four tigers.

These tigers personify, lust, anger, fear and jealousy. The clowns and the tigers are continuously in conflict with each other. The clowns have a divine soul and truth to save them. The tigers are heartless, selfish and materialistic, although they have a royal presence. Sometimes they kill the tigers during the show and sometimes the tigers kill them. It’s an ongoing show at the “Circus of the Absurd”, seasoned with a tinge of reality and satire; a comment on our present social setup.

Cities are being destroyed; faith is being plundered. Its all part of the show. The tigers play with our innocence at every step of life. Sometimes they impersonate the clown to deceive us, but the deception cannot last long and the clown takes over again with the help of the golden sword. The golden sword symbolises purity, truth and divinity. During this ongoing power play, the circus in itself becomes infused with strong emotions. I have tried to capture all that in this series of work.

Characters of Skeleton (personifying both birth and death), Sadhus, beggars, girl child, dogs, horses and snake appear with the clowns during the show. Gradually the performance overwhelms the senses and itself becomes reality. Sometimes the clown wrestles with the skeleton, as if trying to overcome death and solitude, like we all do in our life time. In contradiction, the skeleton also clashes with the tigers, showing an end to the dilemmas of mankind.

There are other symbols in my paintings: a boat to show homeland and our place in this world.
Its made of wood to depict our vulnerability. There are wheels depicting instability. I have shown flying daggers or daggers on a trapeze, always hanging on our heads. They depict the uncertainty of life and the impending end to all life.

At most times the clown overcomes the tigers, overcomes his sorrow and faith wins at the end.
It’s the victory of Goodness! The “Circus of the Absurd” is the circus we all live in.
Fantasy worlds and reality overlap and intermingle here, and are sometimes inseparable.