Hand Made Vibration…

 

There is a Bengali proverb which says that « All the Universe is contained in a pot ». The relevance of the proverb resides in the fact that the potter interacts with all the five essential elements – earth, water, wind, fire and space – when making pots. Like man, the pot too must embark on a spiritual journey in the course of which it takes on its own distinct identity, plays an important role in birth and death rituals and fulfils other essential functions in man’s daily life. During ceremonies and sacred rites, the pot may even symbolise a god or a goddess.

 

The pot plays a vital role throughout all the stages of man’s life. At birth, it represents the maternal womb or garbha. It also assumes considerable importance during nuptial rites.
At death , it is used to carry the ashes of the dead man and it is said that the pot also contains the blessings of his ancestors. Even today, the Chandri tribes (India) make dome-like pots that they install as dwelling places for the spirits of the dead.

 

All the primal elements found on Earth – fire, water and clay – are essential for making pots.
Water is used to knead and model the clay. The finished model is then dried and heated in ceramic ovens which naturally implies the use of air and fire.

 

From time immemorial, men have feared and venerated the primal elements.

 

… « The humble pot is in fact time less and universal in nature , They create in relation to civilizer. Pots have been typical of the human endeavour at all times and all places, from the Neolithic to nowadays, and they are probably the first artefacts to establish man’s creativity.
No matter what the evolution of the human mind and in spite of all the progress science has made, pots have always been an essential part of man’s life although their form, appearance and the material from which they are made may differ.
So the creation of the humble pot represents the harmonious fusion of the primal elements which create the first material thing in our human civilization. Today its existence diffuses a social language and communicates with modern materialistic society. Before that modern world, the pot accompany us in our daily life as poetic language. It seduces us, it speaks to us with its form and appearance. I would like to translate in image the universal language of pots on my canvas as a moral reality.
The poesy and the mystery of the perennial of this modest artefact , a link between the magma and the original substance together with Mans creative spirit , and perfectly take part simultaneously in the archeological, the mundane as well as the artistic history of humanity throughout time and space».

Madhu BASU