Of the four essentials of Earth, Water, Wind and the Fire, it is the fire that has the utmost potency to bring to ashes a reality that might have existed like it shall never be erased. However, in its flames too is held a promise…of the Phoenix that rises from the ashes. According to legend the Phoenix could well live 1400 births. It has symbolized renewal, regeneration and resurrection! Is it our undying ‘soul’? One has to keep recreating magic by clearing the mind and reaching the tabula rasa.
From the series titled, “Tabula Rasa…for a new beginning”!
Tabula Rasa in Latin means a clear slate, and originates from the Roman tabula or wax tablet used for notes, which was blanked by heating the wax and then smoothening it, to give a tabula rasa. In Psychology, it relates to the theory that at birth the (human) mind is a “blank slate” without rules for processing data, and that data is added and rules for processing are formed solely by one’s sensory experiences. And so in order to reach for his goals and desires, despite the setbacks that one has faced, one needs to clear his mind to reach a tabula rasa and start afresh. In this series, the artist has exhibited pictures those describe the meaning of ‘Tabula Rasa’, ‘before it is reached’ and ‘after it is reached’ in the human mind.
Shivani Pandey 