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The Gods must be crazy

Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai recently presented a series of photographic works by Nandini Valli Muthiah. Art writer Kanchi Mehta, while going through the works, imagines a world of distressed gods. She posits Nandini’s works in a realm where the bizarre is critiqued with compassion and fun.

Indian Mythology has conditioned its followers to believe that Gods lived in heaven, ate the richest food, lived in palaces and wore the finest attire. Little did they anticipate the arrival of the twenty first century, where humans acquired a God-Complex, and left the Gods disillusioned with their own creation. The chaos and decay of modern day must be very painful for them (Gods) to cope with, when you’re still wearing heavy gold jewelry, a large and fairly unmanageable crown, a heavy garland of flowers and to top it all, blue skin. This one’s definitely a misfit if he’s an original, or else he’s simply mistaken for a character from the Ram Leela.

Nandini Valli Muthiah has aesthetically portrayed the loneliness and despair faced by the ‘super natural’ in her photographs. Dressed in a silk dhoti with a gold border, the model’s body is painted in sky blue, clad with ornaments just like the character of Krishna in an Amar Chitra Katha comic.

It is simply a concept. We mortals have idolized our prophets and messiahs and invoke them through several channels for several reasons. But we have never pictured God actually appearing on earth in a chauffeur driven red convertible car, with procession of discounted musicians trailing by his side. Or even put Him up a solitary hotel room for the night where He can wash up. It’s a bizarre sight. God would be very disenchanted, very lost. Each image has a certain emotion it evokes whether it is a close up of the blue feet or pink rose petals frozen mid air. Color, lighting, backdrops and locations have been carefully applied to her subject. The contrasting blue against the pink cushion backdrop in ‘Reassurance’ creates a visual tingle whereas the water dripping from the intense look on the face in ‘Gaze-1’ evokes certain sadness. Valli has used the idol of Godess Laxmi as one of her backdrops, where the faded dry paint is flaking from the walls, the switchboard and wiring has been neglected for decades, and cheap polyester curtains protect the idol. In front of this decay, sits her model on his knees looking, with deep concentration, into nothingness. The juxtaposition describes Valli’s theme effortlessly.

Props such as lotus flowers, ornaments, petals, shells and garlands heighten the composition. The ‘Abstract’ photographs which are close ups of the models body along with specific props are hypnotic. The right hand, with fingers immersed in the water, the orange dhoti the bracelet and armlet compliment the pink and yellow lotuses. The forlorn God is nostalgic. Reminiscing the past, anticipating the future.

Valli’s imagery is so opulent, yet unpretentious. It reflects a dark side of blind faith that we have come to accept, and also be indifferent towards. Each print seems to have its own story, and its own history. They linger amongst the viewer’s senses and haunt you with the mysterious ambience they hold.