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Horizon Gallery, London, 1987
Horizon Gallery, London, 1987
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The Other Story, 1989
The Other Story, 1989
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The Other Story, 1989
The Other Story, 1989
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The Other Story, 1989
The Other Story, 1989
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The Other Story, 1989
The Other Story, 1989
Avtarjeet Dhanjal
Valley of Lights, 1984-85
Slate, wax and fire
60 x 140 x 55 cm
23 5/8 x 55 1/8 x 21 5/8 in
23 5/8 x 55 1/8 x 21 5/8 in
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The sculptures are large blocks of slate into which Dhanjal cut sequences of small niches to hold candles, the colour of the stone referencing the endless darkness of night in...
The sculptures are large blocks of slate into which Dhanjal cut sequences of small niches to hold candles, the colour of the stone referencing the endless darkness of night in the small, rural village in which he grew up:
“In the village where I lived, there was no electricity, Dark nights became pitch black. The darkness became solid… In the village, any light burning becomes magical.”
The darkness of the slate is reconciled with the light; polarities are brought together and shades and textures revealed. By using candles in this way Dhanjal confers upon the works a functional identity that is integral to Indian devotional sculpture. These works, more than any produced in his career, express his cultural presence, combining his practice as a sculptor in the west and his affinity with Indian culture, its philosophy and artistic traditions.
“In the village where I lived, there was no electricity, Dark nights became pitch black. The darkness became solid… In the village, any light burning becomes magical.”
The darkness of the slate is reconciled with the light; polarities are brought together and shades and textures revealed. By using candles in this way Dhanjal confers upon the works a functional identity that is integral to Indian devotional sculpture. These works, more than any produced in his career, express his cultural presence, combining his practice as a sculptor in the west and his affinity with Indian culture, its philosophy and artistic traditions.
Provenance
The estate of the ArtistExhibitions
London, Horizon Gallery, 23 February - 14 March 1987London, Hayward Gallery, The Other Story, Afro-Asian artists in post-war Britain, 1989
Wolverhampton Art Gallery, The Other Story, Afro-Asian artists in post-war Britain, 1990
London, Pitshanger Manor and Gallery, Avtarjeet Dhanjal, 8 August – 20 September 1997
Publications
Araeen, Rasheed, The Other Story, Afro-Asian artists in post-war Britain, London, 1989, pg. 47Cross, Peter & Tawdross, Gilane (eds.), Avtarjeet Dhanjal, inIVA, London, 1997, pg. 80
Bailey, David A., Baucom, Ian & Boyce, Sonia (eds.), Shades of Black, Assembling Black Arts in 1980s Britain, Duke University Press, 2005, pg. 239
Dhanjal, Avtarjeet, Light over the Horizon, EU-MAN, Helsinki, 2012, pg. 83
Lalit Kala Akademi, Chandigarh, International Art Conclave, January 2015, unpagniated