Throughout Southeast Asia, nymph-like, shape-shifting deities associated with clouds and water known as apsaras are commonly depicted in sculptures and other artworks dating back millennia. For San Francisco-based artist Anoushka Mirchandani, who was born in India, these mythological beings are the spirits, so to speak, of vibrant oil paintings.
Tapping into family memories and her upbringing influenced by South Asian cultural traditions, Mirchandani explores mythology and perception. Her current solo exhibition, My Body Was a River Once at ICA San José, explores the tradition of the apsara through a lens of timelessness, femininity, and biophilia. Curated by Zoë Latner, the show emphasizes the dynamic between power and vulnerability, exemplified by Mirchandani’s approach to the figures’ presence and ease amid the unpredictability of nature.
As a child, Mirchandani observed apsaras in the ancient Buddhist caves of Ajanta and Ellora. “These water-women are beings of transformation, embodying sensuality, cosmic energy, and the transmission of matrilineal knowledge,” says an exhibition statement.
In the paintings, figures are at one with their surroundings, virtually faceless with the exception of shadows that suggest lips and noses. The outlines of their bodies merge with tropical plants, moss, boulders, and flowing streams, and their flesh is partly transparent. Additionally, the underpainting of each work comprises a terracotta red, inspired by the clay-rich soil of the Indian states of Goa and Maharashtra. Starting with this earthy pigment literally grounds Mirchandani’s compositions in a sense of home and belonging.
My Body Was a River Once continues through August 23. See more on Mirchandani’s Instagram.
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