When a man of science forays into art, his expression is vastly different from one pursuing pure art. The difference arises by virtue of a blend of context, between art and science, obvious in the work by Rijin John, an engineer by profession, an artist by choice. The work ‘Holi Beads –The Orbit’ displayed at OED Courtyard in Mattancherry attracts at face value by its sheer size, a 54 foot installation using 90 coconuts and 400 metres of coir rope. Beyond the aerially suspended prayer beads, made by stringing together coconuts of different sizes, the rosary hanging from the sky is Rijin’s empirical deduction from physics, technology and social sciences. After a personal loss he began questioning and observing hierarchies in the apparent entropy of social and physical systems.
Being a telecom engineer, for about nine years, he found it easier to relate and explain concepts in relation to the telecommunication network domain. He saw the Telecom Network System in the country, TRAI, at the centre and the different service providers as related bodies balanced by it.The solar system, atomic structure, families, social systems presented themselves as similar orders within ostensible disharmony. The verification of the complexity led him to create two patented inventions. A work made during his engineering days, in 2004, was a rosary. This simple installation presented itself to the artist as one with multiple insights.
“I accidentally saw the work from a different angle; I beheld a spectacle that far exceeded the scope of the work. It now revealed to me an image of electrons, photons, orbit, planets, satellites, axis, spin, cluster, system etc,” he says. The work that went on to set a world record in Limca Book of Records, as the longest Christian rosary, 29 metres, once again rises in the current work. ‘Holi Beads –The Orbit’ is a second take, this time round, larger in size and deeper in concept.
This work is a consolidated version of a string of prayer beads used by multiple religions and not a religious rosary. But Holi Beads (not ‘Holy beads’) like the name holi , is multi-dimensional, drawing from religion to social science. It was during his research at Bell Labs that Rijin came across the similarities in different regions and philosophies. “At one point of time I accidently noticed the similarities and correlations in the number of beads used in the rosaries of different religions. This helped me derive a consolidated design for the same.”
This perspective became the representation of hierarchical families of almost everything that he sees and senses around him. “This work,” states Rijin, “is the realisation of everything I have experienced in my lifetime. It is more than just religious or spiritual.” Currently Rijin works with different community projects in promotion of sports and arts. This work is a collateral project of the Kochi Muziris Biennale and is on till March 29.
