Almost two decades ago, artist B.O. Shailesh’s life took a new course when he saw the world upside down. Quite literally. The artist, a member of the Progressive Painters’ Association, Chennai, recalls, “I had visited a yoga centre to take a sneak peek at the world of meditation and exercise, way back in 1996. There, the instructor asked the participants to do Sirsasana or headstand. He said, and I remember clearly, that resting your head on the floor with the feet up makes the blood rush to your brain, thereby helping you deal with stress, and think better,” he says. Shailesh followed his instructions to the last word, and while in the position, had this sudden urge to draw. “So there, in that yoga centre, I drew a rough sketch of a man in a yoga pose.”
That was the artist’s first in the yoga series, and he continues to focus on it even today. Over time, animal forms crept into his work. “While I myself cannot do yoga because of a knee problem, I visit centres to simply observe people doing yoga, and there, I sit and freeze a certain stretch or bend in my sketches.” Once home, he adds a contemporary twist to the works by juxtaposing them with animal figures — converting them into canvas images and pine wood sculptures. A set of these works — both old and new — from the series are on display at Forum Art Gallery. The exhibition titled ‘Juxtaposing… As the mind sees’, opened a few days prior to International Yoga Day.
A recurring element in his works are masks. Humans with masks of elephants, lions and turtles. “It is inspired from the traditional folk theatre form Yakshagana, where actors wear masks on stage to emulate animals,” he explains. With yoga, as he observes, most postures seem adapted from animals. “Take for example, kurmasana or tortoise pose (where the legs are stretched wide on either side, and head bent to touch the ground); or cat stretch (marjariasana),” he says, pointing out to works from his earlier ‘Secret Pillow’ series. A few other postures named after animals include the garudasana or eagle posture, makarasana or crocodile pose, matsyasana or fish pose, and gomukhasana or cow face pose.
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The artist, however, clarifies that his works are not a guide to the origin of yoga postures. “The fusion of humans and animals is just a contemporary twist. For example, in the work titled Buddha (acrylic on wood), the sculpture is half Buddha and half elephant. The elephant here metaphorically represents the strength of the character of Buddha,” he explains. There is a recorded image of the Buddha in a yoga posture, with protruding ribs and stomach sucked in. “This shows that even the Buddha practised yoga,” he explains.
“There are also written records of how yogis, who had mastered all the eight divisions of yoga, back in the day, had answers to things that the Western world unveiled much later,” he says. The series, in that sense, is an exploration into the wealth of the past, and its significance in the future.
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