Important Notice

"By very simple means, I am convinced, one can attain infinity." - S H RAZA

The present lot belongs to a decade in S H Raza's oeuvre when the artist continued to explore geometric forms and the motif of the bindu in his paintings - a preoccupation that began in the late 1970s, marking a significant shift in his style. The central black circle or bindu is a metaphor for the origin of all life in Hindu philosophy, from... "By very simple means, I am convinced, one can attain infinity." - S H RAZA

The present lot belongs to a decade in S H Raza's oeuvre when the artist continued to explore geometric forms and the motif of the bindu in his paintings - a preoccupation that began in the late 1970s, marking a significant shift in his style. The central black circle or bindu is a metaphor for the origin of all life in Hindu philosophy, from which "a whole series of different climates of thought can be created," in addition to representing concepts like unity, completeness and infinity. It is also indicative of shunya or a void, similar to that from which the universe was created.

Raza returned to this symbol over and over again, using various permutations of line and colour to "interpret... the universe in terms of five primary colours: black, white, red, blue and yellow." (Artist quoted in Geeti Sen, Bindu: Space and Time in Raza's Vision, New Delhi: Media Transasia India Ltd., p. 127) Like works from the previous decade (lot 38), the present lot is also framed within a square, but here the dark circle is more expansive, pervading the canvas and indicative of the great void into which everything is re-absorbed. Raza's use of the five primary colours, painted around the corners of the circle, is derived from the Indian concept of panchatatva, representing the five constituent elements of nature - earth, sky, air, fire and water.

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