Nirakar Aakar, a solo show organised by Artisera at Bangalore International Centre (BIC), Bangalore, India. From April 26 to 28 2024.
In Nirakar Aakar (i.e. formless form), the artist engages with significant yet intangible concepts of divinity, spirituality, and humanity; creating potent compositions that are visual interpretations of human faith, human existence, and society at large. The Divinity series is a captivating exploration of religious and mythological stories and verses. Devoid of commonplace depictions, Nikheel captures the essence and symbolism of the ancient myths and mantras he recalls from his childhood. The Spirituality series transcends theological boundaries to convey a universal message of spiritual advancement, compassion, prosperity, freedom, and harmony of all beings. The artworks serve as a poignant reminder of our shared existence and the importance of extending kindness and care to every creature on this planet. In the Humanity series, Nikheel celebrates the “Varnamala”, or the alphabet, drawing parallels between Devanagari's characteristics and the ideals humans should aspire to - such as equality, with no concept of upper or lowercase letters, togetherness, through diacritic marks or ‘matras’, and coexistence, expressed through conjuncts or ‘jodakshars’. The artworks celebrate unity, diversity, humanity, and oneness, using the letters as a metaphor.
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