'new prayers'
wellesley college, 2017
This piece is an exploration of my relationship with Hinduism, religiously and culturally. The musical compositions and the arrangement of the mandir, or altar, reflect the Hindu traditions, music, values, and aesthetic standards that have become ingrained in my notions of religiosity and spirituality over the years. The tableau of a mandir is deconstructed and each element is isolated, which simultaneously distorts the experience and brings focus to its various corporeal and spiritual elements.
Like religion, "digital" artistry and expression falls into an echoing limbo between the real and the theoretical, and is affective in how it moves us to feel, to act, and to interact with ourselves and with others. How do we reconcile fabrication and authenticity, fabrication and truth?
This piece is an invitation to meditate and to introspect, to challenge traditional notions of religion and spirituality in the physical space of everyday Hindu ritual.
Pictured above are some of the individual components of the installation.
Each object signifies a performative aspect of engaging with Hinduism that represents a spiritual connection. The central object of the tableau, the idol of Lord Ganesha, is prominently featured in order to illustrate and call into question the way we fabricate objects, philosophies, traditions, and identities.
Posted below are the musical components for this piece, which stood in the Jewett Sculpture Court at Wellesley College.