THE LAST BRAHMIN Shailesh BR
14 Feb - 20 Oct 2020 | Villa Arson, Nice
Title: Puja Machine (Prayer Machine)
Year: 2020
Materials: Wood, copper, brass, motors, turmeric, milk, ash, kumkum, sindhoor, glass, animal hair, cotton flowers
Technique: Kinetic sculpture
Dimensions: Variable
Production Villa Arson Nice
Courtesy the artist
You have the right to perform your actions,
but you are not entitled to the fruit of the action.
The Brahmins are conferred the duties of prayer rituals and ceremonies as only they have the right to acquiring spiritual knowledge, and are considered by birth as those on the path to ‘Brahma’. But if a machine takes on the ritual of performing prayers, can it also find a connection with the higher being, and gain enlightenment?
Photograph: François Fernandez / Villa Arson
Title: The Melting Lotus - सहस्रारा (Sahasrara)
Year: 2020
Materials: Paraffin wax, wood, heater
Technique: Sculpture
Dimensions: Variable
Production Villa Arson Nice
Courtesy the artist
Like the state of mind, life too is in a constant state of formation and deformation - no matter which caste one is born into. One of the most significant Hindu pilgrimages takes devotees on a long, arduous journey to witness an ice Linga in a cave that is naturally formed from the freezing of water drops that fall from a crevice in the roof. Just like the Linga in the Amarnath cave is not the same every year or even every moment, life and all its moments too, form, deform, and reform, while we learn, grow, share and change. Without these changes, how shall we find a higher being as a host of our spirit when we leave this body? Without change can there ever be moksha (liberation)? And if the constant of change is interpreted from the Hindu belief of formation and deformation, then why are they so many limitations to the spirit based on its birth in a body?
Photograph: François Fernandez / Villa Arson
Title: Spiritual Possessions
Year: -
Technique: -
Materials: Collection of 57 antique household objects
Dimensions: Variable
Production Villa Arson Nice
Courtesy the artist
A Brahmin’s spiritual duty is of maintaining the holy law and equilibrium in roles such as a priest or a guru. But material objects are integral to these spiritual occupations too. These are handed down over hundreds of years of ancestry maintaining the inheritance from generation to generation, concealed behind the closed doors of a Brahmin’s house.
Photograph: François Fernandez / Villa Arson
Title: Page Turner (Ulta Pulta)
Year: 2020
Materials: Books, book stands, machine
Technique: Kinetic sculpture
Dimensions: 101cm x 46cm x 33cm (series of 10)
Production Villa Arson Nice
Courtesy the artist
The power of spiritual knowledge rests at the top of the hierarchy - only with the Brahmins. But are they using this power of learning to push the needle forward by interpreting and reinterpreting sacred texts for the greater good of humankind or is the needle stuck at the rote ritual of turning the pages?
Photograph: François Fernandez / Villa Arson
Title: Tail of a Dog - श्वपुच्छ (Shwapuchchha)
Year: 2020
Materials: Single channel video, fibreglass, threads and accessories
Technique: Sculpture and video
Dimensions: 161cm x 71cm x 30cm
Production Villa Arson Nice
Courtesy the artist
The tail of a dog can never be straightened. The caste system binds both the body and spirit based on birth through the rest of life - for some with the sacred cord, and some with the noose of lifelong discrimination. Everyday rituals strengthen these knots and maintain the loop of spiritual inheritance. But will the tiresome burden of ritualistic monotony carried by the body, tip the scales in favour of the human spirit?
Photograph: François Fernandez / Villa Arson
Title: Abdul Munaf and Abdul Farookh
Year: 2020
Materials: Acrylic, ink and tape on raw canvas
Technique: Painting
Dimensions: 228cm x 154cm
Production Villa Arson Nice
Courtesy the artist
The caste system defines stringent borders in relationships and friendships. It is impressed upon the learning mind when it is open, young and playful, to systematically acknowledge the ‘differences’ of identity. The painting serves to conjure the presence of two separated childhood friends and a formative lesson in discrimination. The artist and the painting wonder how they look today - would the Abdul brothers wear something as stereotypical as The Last Brahmin imagines?
Photograph: François Fernandez / Villa Arson
Title: Holy Sticks
Year: 2020
Materials: Print on paper, found wood
Technique: Photograph and installation
Dimensions: 487cm x 304cm x 182cm
Production Villa Arson Nice
Courtesy the artist
“A Brahmin’s life is a collection of insecurities”. Through life, they collect wood from nature that is used in fire ceremonies at home or eventually becomes the pyre on which they are cremated. This ritual connects life and death in search of moksha (liberation of the soul) through the final ceremony. But will there be moksha because one has carried out all rituals dutifully even if they were staid and monotonous, including presiding over the funerals of others in their lifetime?
Photograph: François Fernandez / Villa Arson