Shanthi Chandrasekar

Spending some time with the work of Maryland artist Shanthi Chandrasekar today. As you can see, Shanthi's art is significantly influenced by her Indian heritage.

"Pillaiyar, the elephant-headed god from the Indian mythology, is associated with new beginnings. To me, he represents an intriguing study in contrasts, with his enormous elephant head and relatively minute human body. Almost always, when I start working in a new medium, I begin with the Pillaiyar, a form familiar and yet fascinating to me." ~ Shanthi

Pillaiyar-8
Acrylic on Canvas
by Shanthi Chandrasekar


"I had a special dream a few years ago. It was the happiest dream I had ever dreamt. I woke up with a sense of joy and a memory of red dots arranged on a whitish background. I also remembered the words “All the possibilities!” But that was all I remembered. I could not recollect what the dream was about or what all those exciting possibilities were. So, I started this series as a visual journal to record my dreams with the hope of recovering those lost memories."

RedDots-27
Mixed Media on Paper
by Shanthi Chandrasekar


"Indian women often begin their day and sometimes also end it by drawing kolams on the ground just outside the front door. These repeating patterns, a type of Tantric Art, have been passed down from generation to generation for centuries, and symbolize the scientific and philosophical patterns innate to and infinite throughout the cosmos. Like Native American sand paintings or Buddhist mandalas, the kolams are part of the cycle of creation and destruction."

Kolam-Copper-Pink

Devanagari-3.jpg
by Shanthi Chandrasekar

Chakra-neer
by Shanthi Chandrasekar

Gujarathi
by Shanthi Chandrasekar

Maya-cube
by Shanthi Chandrasekar

Posted with permission of the artist.

Links:

* Devanagari
* Chakras for Beginners
* Maya (illusion)