| Vinod Balak juxtaposes Indian spirituality and traditions with contemporary popular culture in his jewel-toned oil paintings. In Vishnu with Bonsai, he reimagined the myth of Vishnu. In Hindu mythology, the serpent Ananta forms a floating couch for the creator god. After an unfathomable cycle of time, the recumbent god sleeps on the milky cosmic ocean and dreams the re-creation of existence. In Balak’s painting, Vishnu is portrayed as a tired, young runner, lackadaisically sprawled with his huqqa pipe in hand. The leaning tree at his feet is a traditional Indian symbol of adoration.
Balak’s composition recalls the Mughal portrait Dying Inayat Khan by Govardhan (1618), a depiction of the drug-induced death of one of Emperor Jahangir’s courtiers. Balak draws upon history and legend to comment on contemporary society, including suggesting that today’s leaders pursue increasingly lazy and indulgent lives. |
