OF SPACE, SILENCE, PAIN AND EVERYTHING ‘INBETWEEN’ - Dr. Gauri Parimoo Krishnan,

Singapore-based artists of Japanese and Indian origins, Sachiyo Sharma and Sunaina

Bhalla have come together to create a conceptual installation at the Japanese Cultural

Centre inspired by the Japanese concept of Ma. Ma in Japanese culture refers to space

interval defined as void. The concept of void, Hsu is also found in Chinese Buddhism, and

Shunyata in the Madhyamika school of Indian Buddhism which consider void as the ultimate

reality, characterized by tranquillity and undistinguishable dualities. Kshanabhangurata, or

evanescence in Sanskrit refers to the ephemeral nature of life forms or a time beat of a

metrical cycle, taal in Indian music. They rise and fall like waves in the ocean, existing

momentarily in time and space. Both artists have addressed the idea of Ma in their own

respective art practices which starts with a minimalistic expression using materials they have

either inherited or encountered through life-changing experiences that bring to life their

quests through a combined installation.

Here Ma, void or space in-between does not mean absence of space, but an awareness of a

transition. This concept of space can be applied in visual and performing arts as well as

architecture where exterior and interior of a built space conjoins with transitional terraces,

porches, doors and windows wherein the ‘absence’ refers to the ‘presence’ – implying

pause, anticipation, and hope. In music and dance – notes, rhythm and movement of a

dancer’s body or a musician’s voice and hands or brush strokes applied at intervals in

calligraphy – all resonate with Ma. Ma is present in Ikebana, sumi-e as well as Zen rock

gardens from which Sachiyo derives inspiration. The practice of living and submitting oneself

to the present moment is explored by both artists in their own ways, where birth and death,

joy and sadness, pleasure and pain are but different sides of the same coin, complimenting

each other.

This thought-provoking homage to Ma explores the impermanence of life, evanescence of

life forms, emergence of calmness from trauma of life-threatening conditions using materials

like woven linen paper, cocoons, gold and silver threads, cotton cord, bandages, and pins,

through intense contemplative processes.

The artists deliberately draw our attention to Ma in their works by focussing on the transitory

nature of the very existence of life, by creating an awareness of silence and varied

sensations. Created from scratch through an introspective process, these works exude

simplicity and spirituality on different planes. The idea of transformation due to the passage

of time recurs in the works of both the artists and through that impermanence of beauty,

forms in nature, pleasure and pain which wither away and disappear. The artists transform

not only their materials, they even play with the forms creating a mindful array of evanescent

forms which coexist for a small duration of time to convey a meaning cognised through their

respective existences. These experiential woven and block printed works are more to be

‘felt’ than ‘seen’, sometimes ‘entered’. They envision Ma through a sensorial resonance of

rhythm at different levels through imprinted patterns and floating cocoons occupying the

space of an entire room in a combined installation.

Sachiyo’s association with linen paper goes back to her Japanese calligraphic background

and familiarity with paper, brushes and ink. She painstakingly spins the Japanese linen

paper yarn with silver thread from Nishijin inspired by traditional Kimono sashes to weave

her works into large paper tapestries. She weaves the tapestries with uneven texture and the

texture replete with silver shines forth in some spots when it catches light. Sachiyo gives a

new twist to traditional weaving with metal thread where asymmetry and irregularity of hand-

made creations is the hallmark.

The tapestry works based on flower series titled ‘every life is beautiful - I, II, III’ and a larger

work titled ‘Momentary – I & II’ are a reflection of her interpretation of Ma. Her works hold a

very powerful message of the transience of life of flowers that are laden with beauty of

immense proportion for a few moments after which they disintegrate, wither away,

sometimes fossilize. In ‘Momentary’, she further disintegrates the image of a flower into

squares and rectangles of different colours and sizes and places them asymmetrically slicing

every stage of the bloom drawing our attention to the changing colours and shapes and the

effect it has on the beholder. In this silent ‘performance’ of life, often trivialised and generally

taken for granted, Sachiyo holds our attention and leads us to meditate on the vast arena of

natural forms and phenomena that are perennial, although they change every moment –

such as rivers, oceans, mountains, trees, flowers, even human bodies, to an extent.

In ‘Squares’ series, the inclusion of trace colours in small coloured squares and rectangles

sprinkled across a vast white textured woven paper tapestry, Sachiyo lends a pause, as if

striking a musical note, an ode to Ma. There is a structure in its disorder, even the lose

threads linking two salvages vertically or the horizontal piping linking several woven panels

in a vast tapestry. The play of light and shade reveals these great momentary transitions in

her works which sensitize the viewers to appreciate the process of weaving itself.

Another work of Sachiyo that elaborates on the concept of Ma is her ‘Cocoon’ series.

Cocoons symbolise moulting, creation and transformative nature of life forms such as

silkworms, moths and butterflies. It also symbolises captivity and freedom and passage of

time that the cast away cocoon alludes to. Life’s impermanence and breaking of moults,

boundaries and barriers to make meaning and claim freedom are beautifully captured by the

hundreds of little cocoons she floats in the gallery space. In drawing our attention to the

cocoon, the artist refers to infinity and boundless nature of life on earth, that which is born is

bound to die and transform yet the universe remains in existence perennially. Life of forms

on earth change, even no two cocoons are of the same colour and when woven together,

they form an orb of golden colour, another transformation begins with the intervention of the

artist’s imagination. The multiple cocoon installation is a celebration of life and a dynamic

exchange of vibrant energy that pulsates simultaneously in all of life’s forms, and when the

wind blows them, they pulsate in their own rhythms.

Sunaina weaves steel pins on strips of cloth tied around woven cotton cords alluding to the

immeasurable pain and existence affirmed by the pin prick of needles encountered and

reaffirmed in the lives of many including the artist herself. Her works evoke a chilling silence

one submits to after bearing pain through illness. The agony of bearing pain and

transformation the human body undergoes when plagued by a life-threatening disease and

living with and caring for someone, has manifested in Sunaina’s works literally as well as

metaphorically.

Bandages appear in many forms in her works – wound endlessly around a cotton chord and

pierced by pins reminding one of the monotony of stinging jabs and how one submits to pain

in a ‘routine’ of tests and their anticipatory results, daily! A synaptic knob shaped installation

of multiple pin inserted cords offers a sensorial journey conveyed over two neurons in the

human brain. By encouraging one to pass through this installation titled ‘Synapse’, Sunaina

explores Ma through the transition of agitation to resilience and silent submission

overcoming an inner turmoil while undergoing an illness. In her summation, acceptance is

not a sign of weakness but of strength and positivity.

Sunaina integrates the technique of block printing in her works to evoke uniformity,

precision, monotony, and sometimes lack of freedom while alluding to the hollowness of

existence. An ode to Ma in her works takes a positive spin on the very ‘rhythm’ of monotony

in daily care of a loved one, transitioning from illness to wellness.

In another installation ‘The Irregular Metronome’ bandages are imprinted with patterns of

arteries and veins and embroidered with red silk thread reminding us of the bloodshot veins

of a patient’s eyes. Here the suffering and physicality of a disease transforms into a visually

pleasing but disturbing array of red streaks randomly growing on the bandage surface, as if

slowly taking control of the body.

Sunaina uses the tally symbol, another leitmotif of her creative concept, alluding to a

measure of count, a method to track repetitive action, whether it is of taking a daily dose of

medication or undergoing tests to track one’s health . This tally symbol is embroidered as

well as block-printed in different permutations and combinations referring to presences and

absences and the impermanence of life. In the work titled ‘The Divine Mark’ she transforms a

mundane symbol into a reverential motif of sacrosanct nature.

Finally, the imprinted and bandaged forms come together in framed art works titled ‘Rhythm

#2’ and ‘Rhythm #3’. One has a central panel of four-part bandaged cords tied together with

gold threat in random order, a sort of precious metal inclusion found in many Asian healing

practices. In the other work she places seven bandaged cords, some with suture thread and

needle intact, referencing the monotony of daily and weekly routine of care and attention that

one submits to with valorous calmness. The ‘rhythm’ of life and the ‘routine’ of life pulsate in

unison with calmness in these works. The oval egg-shaped imprint covers the canvas

surface applied randomly as ‘presences’ and ‘absences’ of life forms that have taken birth or

are just about departed. Its subtle golden hue makes them visible and slightly invisible at the

same time, underscoring their reference to Ma.

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