Artist Statement by Bhagya Ajaikumar:
My creativity relates to my Indian heritage and I am engaged in the contemporary processes in printmaking. My art bridges two forms of expression: dance and visual art. Bharathanatyam the dance characteristically performed in the south, bhava-expression, raga-tune, thana-rhythm, and natya-dance.
I work with the concept, the language and vocabulary of the mudras, and seek through drawing, printmaking and digital imaging, the complex narratives of gesture, reflected in my layering process in my mixed media collages.
The inverted Nataraja pose, also known as the Moksha Tandava, is a rare depiction of Shiva that shows him balancing upside down on one arm. This form of Shiva is said to represent the experience of ultimate freedom and the idea that Shiva is not limited by the relative world.