Where is the light that radiates from Lakshmi that immediately uplifts the beholder? We are plunged into the ocean’s depths in this dark composition where Lakshmi appears comfortingly familiar on her lotus. But what lies on the other side is her disturbing other: Alakshmi. One does not exist without the other. Lakshmi is light itself - in her riches both material and spiritual abound: fortune, fertility, generosity, beauty, grace, charm. But the idea that one can attain them just by recognizing their value is glib and naive. Alakshmi, her twin and opposite force – she who is appeased with gifts of lime and chillies so that she keeps her distance, reminds us that the path to enlightenment is not a straightforward one. To truly understand, that one does not come without the other.
About the Series:
This artwork is part of the “Sister Misfortune” series, through which the artist, Smruthi Gargi Eswar, narrates lesser-known stories from Indian mythology, while reflecting on the narrative surrounding women in our culture. Various Indian goddesses (devis) are depicted with a refreshing artistic lens.
In India, there is a constant burden on women to be “Devi-like”. Through this series, the artist attempts a reverse deification of the goddesses, making them appear like real women, in a real world. The series is an exploration not just of duality, but of multiplicity. It compels us to question our attitudes - women towards themselves, men towards women. How does the idea of a goddess coexist within every woman? How do we, as a society, so casually dismiss, disrespect, disregard, and defile in our everyday existence, those who we have bedecked with gold and enshrined in a temple?
About the Series:
This artwork is part of the “Sister Misfortune” series, through which the artist, Smruthi Gargi Eswar, narrates lesser-known stories from Indian mythology, while reflecting on the narrative surrounding women in our culture. Various Indian goddesses (devis) are depicted with a refreshing artistic lens.
In India, there is a constant burden on women to be “Devi-like”. Through this series, the artist attempts a reverse deification of the goddesses, making them appear like real women, in a real world. The series is an exploration not just of duality, but of multiplicity. It compels us to question our attitudes - women towards themselves, men towards women. How does the idea of a goddess coexist within every woman? How do we, as a society, so casually dismiss, disrespect, disregard, and defile in our everyday existence, those who we have bedecked with gold and enshrined in a temple?
