This is an invocation of Buddhist themes in a highly contemporary mould. Aslam picks up the Buddhist theme, but the intended audience is global in scope, and the work becomes a primary vehicle of artistic expression and vision as well as an object and symbol of devotion. Buddhist ideas, traditional texts, and the current monastic tradition ground this image historically in a neo-religious context, even if a contemporary viewer might not necessarily read it as “Buddhist Art.”
Because the eyes in the face have been obfuscated, the viewer is denied any direct or emotionally charged devotional contact with this divine being, as eye contact is seen as the primary means of accessing the divine in this manner. By merely hinting at the eyes, Aslam has effectively taken the image out of an immediately recognisable devotional context, forcing the viewer to consider it as an independent work of art—the creation of an individual who is meditating and holding a tiny elephant in his hand. Again it makes us think of modern man meditating in the woods and wanting to protect elephants whose numbers are dwindling.
Aslam simplifies the traditional context and re-contextualizes Buddha’s place within it; his linear lines create zones that unify the figure and the faceted background space, then he endeavours to reveal the compassionate, human quality of the Buddhist ethos as a global metaphor, through traditional means by showing the proportional perfection of the human form. Underlying the image’s potency is Aslam’s personal iconography, which playfully relates to that of the established Buddhist tradition—in particular the transformed and abstracted human figure of Buddha, without being either literal or reductive. The painting’s simplicity and its layers of meaning can thus be openly interpreted by diverse art lovers.
ASLAM SHAIKH
Tranquil Resonance
Acrylic on Canvas
38 x 60 inches
2018