Stones: Attempt to EXPLICIT

... purity is what makes our creative work extra from ordinary. Being always led by my heart, I find really a close connection with these stones. As similar as human has its own nature, mood and behaviour so does stones hence, with delicate carvings and cares, I would first start to bond with it, accept it and admire it. Then, rest of the things... 

Sculpture expresses themselves

The 'Aura'

'Aura', one of the larger stone sculptures I made, is an attempt to play with the 'space' and 'void'. The upper part of the sculpture though heavier, is deliberately suspended on four small bronze hooks to lift up the piece. Here, the 'whole' becomes more spiritual, an 'aura' of 'Atman' associated with a halo is created, and again a window is carved to peep into the other side of the world. The whole body of the monumental shaft is treated with wavy chisel marks to attain the tactile quality and the innermost surface of the black marble.

`Untitled'

The sensory joy one experiences from feeling a polished stone is something no other material can provide. There is a prehistoric, primeval bond between 'Man' and 'Stone', as the assemblage of two different  pieces are joined together to the polished precious makrana pink marble turns into a 'minimalist' form of a bird, probably a vehicle of Sarawathi, a Hindu goddess of wisdom. my endeavour was to bring forth the sensuousness of the hard stone and the exquisiteness of the nature.

    

The 'Zen'

Having been inspired by Japanese spirituality, I tried to replicate the same that I had seen in Japan, which was perhaps assumed as a central point, a sacred edifice, during their performance/ yoga. A grouping of three oval shape black marble with speckled chisel bites are surmounted one on the other in order to recreate the consecrated ambiance. For me, the stones are not mere pieces but have lot to do with the man and his spirituality as sculpture inhabit the 'space' in our world and allows for a deeper-correlation through the sense of touch. This is a feature that a two-dimensional art cannot satisfy. 

   

The Falcon

The Falcon', having or relating to the rank of king is another significant creation, a symbolic connotation for 'power', conceived as a metaphor for kingliness, was largely inspired by Egyptian hieroglyphs. Again it is an assemblage of three different varieties of stones. The grey granite is utilized in depicting head, tail and the lower part of the bird; where as the central body is covered with red and Black is exploited for the thick bold pedestal and for linear separation. 

  

'Fruit'

This meticulously carved sculpture titled `Fruit' is erected in four pieces with three dissimilar kinds of material. The superior part, apple form is carved out from red, Grey, and black granite and the lower cylindrical trunk is adjoined with red sand stone. The gigantic magnitude, intensity and the natural volume of a stone is captured and treated with both coarse chisel marks and highly polished. It comes into sight that 'fruit' is unraveling from its 'wholeness' proclaiming the significance of the 'parts' similar to the Buddhist philosophical view. 

'Red Apple'

This particular sculpture entitled 'Red Apple' is a part of my 'Fruit' series, tried out in four pieces laminated each other to the extant to its durability with two different varieties of stones. The upper part, apple form is carved out from a granite block and the lower cylindrical stem is with red sand stone. The monumentality and the natural massiveness of a stone are rendered with both coarse and polished treatment to show the character of the rock. It appears the fruit is an assumed target or aim for a viewer that generates the struggle between subjectivity and objectivity. 

  

`Untitled'

After I tried making full use of the different colors of the stone materials and sculpted them into various artistic pieces through dexterous skills. I felt stone is a heavy material and need a surface to stand on its own. But I wanted to create an 'illusion' as if stone lacked its heaviness. The heavy black marble sculpture, partly polished, is suspended above the land with the help of a light weight fabricated stainless-steel frame around the carved 'flower' form. A flower is offered to the nature for its solidarity made out of the very nature. Interestingly it evokes ambiguity; the stone is protected by steel as if a plant is protected by a thatching of bamboo reeds. Here, one can see the attempt to work with both conventional and modern material that is stainless steel. 

    

Mountain and Cloud

Hailing from Nepal, one of the beautiful regions in the world, my close acquaintance with the mystic beauty of silver mountains and heavy clouds is obvious. Whenever I observe the same, the 'phenomenal' world lures me and intrigues me to adopt the forms into my visual language. 'Mountain and cloud' is an effort to show the invariable association of the indigenous nature with man thus I captured them to cater my composition. The two pieces of stones, marble and granite each contrasted with their natural color, are exploited with subtle changes. 

  

`Untitled'

`Untitled' is an abstract form created without preconceived idea though it resembles Roman head gear, carved to attain both round and flat forms within a single block of a stone. The effort is to show the tactile quality and the beauty of the layers of the stone. The one rim of upper part is sculpted according the need and the other edge is left out as it is to give you an idea about the natural wound of the stone. 

   

`Untitled'

`Untitled' is similar form that again resembles Roman head gear, is also carved to achieve both encircling/encompassing texture at the lower section and graffiti running over the flat upper section, which chiseled out of a single stone. The one perimeter of upper part is sculpted and polished according the requirement and the additional border is left out naturally to represent the normal lesion of the granite. 

Pablo Picasso beautifully said, “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” 

Yes, it does indeed. So above unexpressed beauty not only boost my passion with them but helps to add a special meaning in my life.

- Deepak Rasaily

 (Independent Artist)