INTRODUCTION
Silence is an abstract phenomenon closely associated with the question of human existence. At its most mundane level it means the absence of sound, but its nature is intrinsic and has many aspects to be discovered — inner and outer, physical, mental, psychological. Silence is a paradox: prolonged silence becomes a sound in itself, yet sound and silence are complementary — silence gives birth to sound, and no realization of sound can take place without silence. I see it as the gaps, the hollow space, the void, the emptiness, the nothingness in tangible and intangible spaces.
This series of works originated during my final year of Diploma in Fine Arts, after nearly three years of living in Mumbai. Despite the city being so congested and full, something felt missing — in it and in me. I tried to find what had been with me before I came, and realized that the absence of silence was perhaps one reason for the discontentment within me, because silence is needed for coming back to one’s own Self. Through the representation of sound and silence in my work, I share my experience of searching for this non-existing abstract notion in the city environment of Mumbai.
Artworks under the series
Vandana 