Kali: Art Exhibit in Johannesburg

[Guest guest]

Hindu deity is heart of exhibition

by Ndaba Dlamini

Wednesday, 18 June 2008

 

Johannesburg

The goddess of time, destruction, Earth, uninhibited

womanhood - Kali - is many things, which artist Reshma

Chhiba explores in her solo exhibition.

 

The Hindu goddess Kali is the basis for the works in the

first solo exhibition by Reshma Chhiba, a fine arts masters

student and teacher of classical Indian dance.

 

Chhiba's exhibition, Kali, is on at the Art Extra art gallery in

Craighall, northern Joburg, until 12 July.

 

The goddess symbolises ferocity and destruction to some

Hindus, but to Chhiba she is the embodiment of the

uninhibited side of nature and womanhood. She is the

Goddess of Time. " This essentially makes her the goddess

of creation and, paradoxically, the goddess of destruction, "

Chhiba explains.

 

The artist has always been fascinated by Kali, the most

ferocious of the Hindu goddesses, and her latest works

depict the multiple facets of this goddess. " This body of

work draws on aspects of sexuality and identity as

understood through [Kali's] embodiment of female defiance

and aggression. "

 

She explains that the purpose of the exhibition is to explore

specific female stereotypes and gendered expectations,

particularly within traditional and contemporary Hindu

society.

 

" Kali allows us a space to recognise the potential of

alternative female identities that have agency and power. "

 

Imagery

Usually depicted as a dark-skinned, almost black goddess,

she generally is seen wearing a girdle of arms around her

waist and a necklace of human skulls. She holds in her four

hands a severed demonic head, a lotus flower, a sword and

with the fourth is making a gesture of abhayam, or

protection.

 

Kali's long black hair is dishevelled, her tongue stretched

out and dripping with blood. She stands upon the chest of

Shiva, her consort.

 

According to Hindu mythology, Kali is said to have sprung

from the brow of Durga, the supreme goddess, on the

battlefield, where they joined forces to defeat the demon

Rakta-Bija. Through her defeat of Rakta-Bija, Kali came to

embody the destructive aspects of shakti, or female energy.

 

" It is the aspect of feminine potential that I explore in my

work, " Chhiba explains.

 

Female stages

There are three stages of the female in Hindu mythology -

the unrestricted, the restricted and the stripped. Chhiba has

added a fourth - the unbridled, emancipated woman.

 

In Kali, she represents the four stages of the female in four

photographs: a young girl with plaited hair represents the

unrestricted woman; a married woman wearing her hair in a

bun represents the restricted woman; a widow with shaved

hair represents the stripped woman; and a woman wearing

her hair loose represents Kali.

 

Chhiba is also interested in the links between mythological

archetypes and contemporary gender dynamics, particularly

within the Hindu community, a largely patriarchal society.

" I use Kali iconography, often abstracted, to create large

canvasses that are as much about the tactility and experience

of surface, as they are about the tongue, swords, flowers,

hair and skin of the goddess. "

 

Pigments used in her works are all earth-based. " Within

Hinduism, it is believed that the Earth is created, sustained

and destroyed by the feminine aspect of the being called

shakti, and is therefore worshipped as Mother. The pigments

I use are kumkum [vermilion], turmeric, incense ash and

coal. "

 

Each of these substances relate to the body of Kali: the red

pigment, kumkum, speaks of blood, which is strongly

associated with Kali; the coal speaks of her dark powerful

body and her wild matted locks; the turmeric is often used in

ritual worship of the goddess; and the ash speaks of the

destructive aspect of Kali, Chhiba explains.

 

Stitching

In each of her paintings, the process of stitching, much like

the materiality of the pigment on surface, is extremely

important. This is an act of labour, " a cathartic process that

becomes somewhat meditative and almost dance-like, as I

shift around the canvas making repetitive gestures and

movements " .

 

This aspect of dance emerges more directly in her

photographs and video works. The photographic series of a

traditional dancer speaks directly of Kali. " In this

constructed narrative the female character develops from

submissive and weak, to a challenging and defiant Kali-like

figure. "

 

Kali is Chhiba's first solo exhibition, but she has taken part

in several group exhibitions, including Perfect Lovers. In

the future, she sees her dance and art merging. " I cannot say

what will be the end product but all of this will be

determined by time. "

 

Kali, a solo exhibition by Reshma Chhiba, is on at the Art

Extra art gallery in Craighall, northern Johannesburg until

12 July.

 

http://www.joburg.org.za/content/view/2606/168/