Poetry and art and knowledge are sacred and pure — George Eliot
Tanya Mehta’s show The Unity of Opposites at Gallery Sumukha is as sacred and pure as it can get. The first glimpse of some of the works on display gives a fresh take on things. The way she has marvelled at creating works that are brilliantly thematic and incredibly aesthetic makes it for an interesting show. It comprises of a variety of works in new mixed media and uses poetry to further illustrate the concept. Coincidentia oppositorum or the coincidence of opposites relates to the notion of non-duality which exists in the studies of the metaphysical, scientific and philosophical. It defines a situation in which the existence or identity of a thing depends on the co-existence of at least two conditions that are opposite to each other, yet dependent on each other and presupposing each other, to form an endless loop. The show aims to explore the differences between human perception and reality through the understanding of these non-dual opposites. Discovering the oneness of things previously believed to be different is a kind of transcendence, and leads the mind down a path of realisation and questioning. Using portals, circular imagery and various looping mediums to depict the infinity of the universe around us, we explore the narrowness of human perception through what we define as opposites but are, in reality, unified. This consideration, in turn, links back to absolute and relative truth and the role humans play in their definitions. Tanya’s works narrate the mundane experiences in our lives in a unique way which not only engages the viewer but also the aesthetic beauty, the good usage of shade and light makes it gorgeous to look at.
The Unity of Opposites is Tanya Mehta’s second body of work and third solo show. The new mixed media she uses includes fine art prints, lenticular prints and animated light boxes. Lenticular prints are based on a technology that are also used for 3D displays and produce printed images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as the image is viewed from different angles. Animated prints have the ability to change the image depending on the source of light be that front lit or back lit. Mehta as a new media artist, has exhibited both nationally and internationally. She’s completed two successful solo shows at Gallery 545 Bangalore and the Lalit Kala Akademi (presented by Gallery Sumukha at Chennai). Her works have featured in several exhibitions, with this art show, Tanya expects to break new boundaries and take her art to a next level of brilliance. She hopes to take the audience over those bridges to move to the singular reality or truth that exists for all of us. The key is the imagination.
The show will be on at Gallery Sumukha till July 29.
— The writer is an art expert and curator.
