शून्य घर- Shoonya Ghar

Foreword Sudarshan Shetty in this exhibition Shoonya Ghar employs philosophical means rather than traditional elements to re-contextualize his creative strategies in varied forms. His engagement with the word Shoonya does not merely imply nothingness but encapsulates and encompasses the concept of everything. Diverse elements co-exist and merge. Different components including spaces, architecture, sound, video, visuals, all come together to make a statement. The aesthetics of abundance leads way for an experience of emptiness. This approach also explores the possibilities of achieving an experience by weighing and balancing of seeming contradictions. Cautiously choreographed and oscillating between the two worlds, the work unfolds with a sense of minimal, through an investigation into mutually inclusive aspects that may appear diverse.

Sudarshan looks at traditional sensibilities with a sense of contemporaneity and openness. Looking back becomes a way of looking forward. Through his work, the artist attempts to bridge the fundamental disconnect between tradition and the modern.

The inspiration, the imagery and the music aid in achieving the desired connectivity. The architectural orchestrisation which is under construction showcased in the video is an integral part of the exhibition. Various characters embodying different life roles play their part with their respective entries and exits while the built space and the surrounding terrain remain as witness to the transient human life.

Shakespeare's famous words come to one's mind while experiencing the video, ... The entire world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts ...

Sudarshan Shetty's constructed installation Shoonya Ghar is based on the idea propagated by the Nirgun poetry of the it century poet Goraknath.

... Shunya Cadh Shlihar Shahar Char Basti Kon suta kon jage hai...

The work explores the basic structure of paradoxes and apparent contradictions. The simplicity projected through these fragments of everyday life attempts to decode traditions and beliefs. The video commences a musical composition in simultaneity with architectural orchestrisation. The constructed installation, the music and the performance co- exist parallel to each other. The visuals of the video allude to the humility of manmade creations in contrast to the magnanimity of nature. Memory of things stemming from the sub conscious mind is equally explored. The sequence of events are deliberately sporadic, leaving the task of key connections and associations open for multiple and layered interpretations. The combination of incongruous elements reveals the meaning. However, the viewer is always kept at a calculated distance from the characters to maintain the 'Objectivity of the unfolding events.

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