Shiva

Perhaps best known for his Banaras series, New Delhi-based Manu Parekh has experimented with colourful abstractions, sexual imagery, and figuration. In Shiva, a work that he created when he was living in Calcutta, the forms variously manifest the lingam and the yoni (the male and female principles). While the narrative is erotic, there is a certain rhythm in the painting’s composition. The use of black and red is a nod to Kali, and by extension, to her counterpart, Shiva, making this work an ode to the union of Shiva and Shakti in mythology, which lies at the base of all creation, and ultimate dissolution of the earthly beings with the Universe or Brahmand.