Metaphysical art — an art movement of the early 19th century — opened up new horizons in mysticism and spirituality.
With artists like Giorgio de Chirico and Carlo Carra constantly experimenting with concepts rich in ‘shadowy’ symbolism, this art form drew inspiration from imaginative landscapes.
Seeking solace in the mystery of life, artists usually portrayed the nonsensical side of reality through metaphysical art. And, exploring the relationship between the finite and infinite, Mumbai-based artist Iccha Bhojani strived to interpret the nature of reality and eternity in her works.
Featuring mixed media photographs, collages and paintings, her recent show titled Ever After which was held at Kynkyny Art Gallery captured the beauty of solitude and spirituality.
Bhojani transformed photographs taken around the world into contemporary collages and screen prints.
Aside from being ambient and cryptic, most of her works were moored in the Bahai faith. Beyond all surface contradictions, her works were rooted in oneness, wholeness and universality.
Focussing on the fragile link between body and soul, her stylised compositions shed some light on some of the biggest spiritual conundrums of our time — duality and transience.
Through Ever After, the artist portrayed the primeval duel between the mortal and immortal facets of life.
Embedded with a rich tapestry of motifs and glyphs, her paintings contemplated the essential dichotomy between the mystical and material.
Her collages were fascinating labyrinths strewn with signs, silhouettes, graffiti and layers through which viewers could slip out of the seemingly mundane life and tap into a higher and soulful reality.
Non-descript physical spaces transformed into symbolic landscapes and grunge-like urban settings took on a fairytale quality in her mixed media drawings and photographs.
While the commonplace three-dimensional structures like doors, windows and stairs that run throughout her works represented the sheer physicality of human existence and its temporary trappings; they were also figurative openings and thresholds that led into more groundless realms.
What was striking about Bhojani’s art was that she placed the spiritual world smack in the midst of our everyday, humdrum milieu, making the mysteries of the unknown just as accessible in the middle of a staircase as they would be on top of a mountain.
Everyday objects like old window shutters, a chandelier plastered on a grainy, tarred road or a green armchair in the middle of a utilitarian tunnel acted as metaphors and portals that blurred the boundaries between objective reality and subjective perception.
There was a keen sense of geometry that pervaded in Bhojani’s art. The artist achieved this effect with unconventional and enigmatic tones.
The images were processed digitally and infused with a moody and dreamlike atmosphere to resemble surreal, illusory mindscapes that are suggestive of meditative and altered states of being.
