Size- 21x16 inches
Material - Ink and 24ct gold leaf on 250gsm Fabriano paper
53x40cms
21x16 inches,
Ink and 24ct gold leaf on Fabiano paper,
2022
And I travel into the lands of unknown, with wonderment and awe. Lala in the garb of a woman takes us to the space of no shame, wearing her body as her only cloth mingling and discarding with the five elements with ease.
For me this is no hearsay.
Lalla oh Lalla, my heart swells with love as I take your name.
“Then it is said , she gave him a demonstration of what the penance should really be. She placed an earthen pot on her head and another under her feet ; and with the waning of the moon, her body waned till, on the fifteenth night of the dark fortnight (amavas), nothing was left of her except a little quantity of trembling quicksilver. Then, with the waxing moon her body waxed and, on the full moonlight, she was herself again. In wonderment, her Guru asked: “ What was the quicksilver-like substance in the pot trembling all the time ?” “ It was I,” replied Lalla, “ shorn of all the appurtenances of body, its senses and desires, mind and ego; and yet I trembled for fear that I might not be accepted, for there is no mukti (liberation) through mere self-mortification. It comes ultimately as God’s grace”.
Excerpt from Lal Ded by Jaya Lal Kaul published by Sahitya Akademi.
Seema Kohli
2022
Size- 21x16 inches
Material - Ink and 24ct gold leaf on 250gsm Fabriano paper
53x40cms
21x16 inches,
Ink and 24ct gold leaf on Fabiano paper, 2022
And I travel into the lands of unknown, with wonderment and awe. Lala in the garb of a woman takes us to the space of no shame, wearing her body as her only cloth mingling and discarding with the five elements with ease.
For me this is no hearsay.
Lalla oh Lalla, my heart swells with love as I take your name.
“Then it is said , she gave him a demonstration of what the penance should really be. She placed an earthen pot on her head and another under her feet ; and with the waning of the moon, her body waned till, on the fifteenth night of the dark fortnight (amavas), nothing was left of her except a little quantity of trembling quicksilver. Then, with the waxing moon her body waxed and, on the full moonlight, she was herself again. In wonderment, her Guru asked: “ What was the quicksilver-like substance in the pot trembling all the time ?” “ It was I,” replied Lalla, “ shorn of all the appurtenances of body, its senses and desires, mind and ego; and yet I trembled for fear that I might not be accepted, for there is no mukti (liberation) through mere self-mortification. It comes ultimately as God’s grace”.
Excerpt from Lal Ded by Jaya Lal Kaul published by Sahitya Akademi.
Seema Kohli
2022
Size - 30x22''
Material - Pen, ink, watercolors and 24ct gold leaf on Paper
Watercolour and 24 carat gold pigment on paper
2018
Where there is a balance, there is a union of breath of Ida and Pingala resulting in the activation of Sushmana. A space rising above this physical body, physical space which soul or no soul occupies. This actualisation of both the yin and yang emerges takes you into a space of total union within yourself , to a space of no gender, no physical form. It can be experienced momentarily by exploring the physical union too but according to tantra can be attained within oneself by enhancing both the energies through the rhythm and play of breath. The sun and the moon within us.
A few years back I collaborated with the traditional Paubha artists of Patan, Nepal. Essentially a traditional art form of Nepal, the Paubha paintings blends with my work seamlessly with the pencil drawings, watercolours and prints comprising the multiple elements of mythology and traditions and eventually accentuating each of these artworks. I learnt from these traditional Paubha artists the use of 24 carat gold as in the form of a “tikki” with the brush by mixing in water. It is delightful to see the gold becoming sharper and brighter after rubbing it with metal. The subtlety of the Paubha tradition to voice out their concerns and the detail of my own language of images have been deployed to arrive at the final, finished work, to evoke a multitude that is united in these narratives.
These works are a part of group show of 8 artists from South Asia “Nowthere”, presently showing in Siddhartha Art Gallery, Nepal.
When the sunlight
was shimmering gold
And the moonlight was behind those deep ultramarine doors
Earth was pouring bounty
Were these the sapien’s?
Were they some alien’s?
Unearthing themselves bare
Merging, mixing masticating in the glitch
Still reappearing as fragrance sweet
Who are these fascinating beings
Shifting through the corridors of
my mind
Seema Kohli
August 2018