A flower blooms, spreads its fragrance, enchants many hearts with its beauty. But after some time it has to wither away while slowly losing its color, fragrance and vibrancy. And finally it has to fall down upon the surface of the earth and then has to decompose and melt down completely into soil and become one with it. This is the law of nature. This is the process every living being goes through. The one that has been created has to come to its end one day. But in spite of this law, this solid truth; life never fails to rise again from the ashes of death or destruction. This is what I felt when I entered into the mystic world of Madhvi, created by a combination of some beautiful terracotta works,some paintings and photographs(the process of a flower’s life, I described above, was shown in a terracotta work of Madhvi).
Madhvi Srivastava is a contemporary young artist whom I met during the open house exhibition of Utsha artist residency program-2024. In that program to showcase her works she had rightly chosen a small and almost darkened room, its entrance enclosed by curtains. So that when entering into that room someone could feel the aura of a mysterious world in an instant. Her exquisite terracotta works were exhibited on the floor of that room, presenting a mesmerizing view. While walking barefooted in that room and seeing her works, it felt like I was walking under a Banyan tree over soil. Because the arrangements were made in such an intelligent manner, creating an amusing delusion of shadow play. It felt as if different facets of life and nature are slowly unfolding before your eyes under the prop roots of that Banyan tree. In one of Madhvi’s works it was shown that a new leaf is emerging from within two old leaves, representing life’s readiness to replace the old and doddering with the fresh ones.
In another work she had tried to showcase the miracle of life’s existence under a leaf. That is the beginning of a new life under the shelter of another living thing. There in that work one can see some eggs of some unknown insect or a caterpillar or maybe of a moth are being stuck firmly to that leaf, waiting for the arrival of new lives from them. The photographs Madhvi has taken in the process of making this project are quite fascinating too. They truly compliment her works and the concept behind them. The concept behind her works is to showcase life’s victory over destruction, over decomposition; revealing nature’s secrets with each step. I had to see those photographs (posted on the walls of her mystical world) with the help of my mobile’s flashlight. And I was amazed by her proficiency in observing the many nuances of the mystery, called life. In those photographs I could see some creepers, small arboreal plants, fungi and algae emerging from the branches or the trunks of some big trees; trees growing from other trees and in that process their branches being entangled with each other, showing the interdependence between them.
This simple yet miraculous process of life inside nature goes on in a continuous manner on a day to day basis without even being noticed by anyone. One needs an inquisitive heart and two observing eyes to notice and feel these mysterious things happening around us. And I could feel that all these little things have touched the core of Madhvi’s heart. And inspired her to go deeper and deeper into the world of nature.
Now I could understand the secret behind the darkness which surrounded her photographs, paintings and her terracotta works(that were exhibited in that room). When you decide to take the journey into the mysterious world of nature, to understand and to explore its layered secrets; at first instance you would become overwhelmed by its majestic charm for sure. This phase of the journey was represented by the darkness that was created intentionally with the help of the light and shade effect. When you decide to take that journey you have to go through that darkness, to delve deeper into it. Because only through darkness can you concentrate on your aim, can focus on your path ahead. Otherwise unnecessary light would distract you from your path. Could lead you in the wrong direction. At first this darkness might seem frightening but after overcoming this phase, you would be surprised, awestrikken by the beauty of your journey. Nature would automatically unfold its secrets before you at each of your steps.
So one has to witness Madhvi’s works to know their true beauty. To appreciate their mystical charm. She has a long way to go in this journey of her’s. And me, being a very tiny part of her journey is a wonderful feeling to cherish for ever.
