ART FOR LAND EXHIBITION AT AUROVILLE’S UNITY PAVILION
– UNITY, KINDNESS, FRIENDSHIP –
STILL ONGOING AND NOT TO BE MISSED!
Art for Land Exhibition – Unity, Kindness, Friendship.pdf
For this year’s August Art for Land Exhibition at the Unity Pavilion – “Unity, Kindness, Friendship” – the title came as a strong call !
This still-ongoing August AFL exhibition showcases Auroville artists Amar, Ben van Vliet, Crystal, Grace Gitadellila, Jocelyn Janaka, Jyothi Khare, Marie Claire Barsotti and Marlenka … together with Ashram-associated artists Dilip Patel, Prabhat Biswas, Sunil Patel, Vivechana Saraf … and along with friends of Auroville and the Ashram Janakiraman, Lara Boriotti, Mira Varg and Sreedevi Maguluri.
The exhibiting artists in their generosity, aspiration, and inspiration took up the theme and then all the expected – and unexpected – beautifully unfolded. As the paintings were distributed throughout the Unity Hall and the Hall of Peace, the depth of the theme emerged.
When curating these collective exhibitions, we always look for harmonizing the various expressions and styles, while attempting to give each artist the best exposure. Mirroring the reality of Auroville on a higher plane, this exhibition clearly speaks of the Unity within which is there and which has to be made conscious in all of us for the realisation and manifestation of Unity and Peace in society and the world – in action and in interaction.
Sri Aurobindo says:
“The Oneness exists; whether you are aware of it or not, it exists, in reality it makes no difference to you: if you are conscious, you have the joy, if you are not conscious, you miss the joy … But that the Oneness exists, even if you feel just the opposite, is a fact you can do nothing about, for it is a divine action and a divine fact – it is a divine action and a divine fact. If you are conscious of the Divine, you become conscious of this fact.“
(From “The Mother’s talks on The Synthesis of Yoga”)
The contributed paintings all spoke of this, the innate Oneness and the becoming conscious of it – through Symbols, Kolams, Mandalas and paintings which explore the widening of consciousness and human relations … from widening, to going beyond and ultimately to transformation.
In the Hall of Peace, paintings of the Dove by Janakiran and the Crane by Sreedevi as symbols of Peace in the West and the East came to join the Mother’s signature, which she had said also represented The Bird of Peace descending upon the Earth. Together with this, is a stained glass Butterfly of Transformation in the strong blue colors of Hope and Peace by Ben van Vliet.
We remember with gratitude Kratu, who so generously participated in our AFL exhibitions…. his memory and works live on.
The exhibition is ongoing and the proceeds from the sale of the artworks go either for Auroville’s needed land consolidation or for protective fencing of newly-acquired plots – per the express wishes of each artist.
The works can be viewed and purchased at the Unity Pavilion and also online at the artforland website https://artforland.in/
In solidarity,
Jaya, for Art for Land
We sincerely thank all of the contributing artists
for their inspiring creativity and great generosity !
