Anju Dodiya’s works reflect a self narrative that seems almost cathartic; particularly with the centrality of the artist’s self-image that focuses on the creative process – its vulnerability, but also its power. Dodiya devises an entrance for the viewer to separate her painterly self from the artist as a subject: “When I started working, using my own self was the only way I knew how to paint. At that time, my works were like...
Anju Dodiya’s works reflect a self narrative that seems almost cathartic; particularly with the centrality of the artist’s self-image that focuses on the creative process – its vulnerability, but also its power. Dodiya devises an entrance for the viewer to separate her painterly self from the artist as a subject: “When I started working, using my own self was the only way I knew how to paint. At that time, my works were like nocturnal diaries, full of stories and narratives. This invented self stayed on, it became a useful device, a take-off point, to explore my various states of mind- the darkness within, the tenderness and the fear. I set up characters and stories around it to explore this. Using my own face also gives me a sense of comfort, because very often my images are violent. I do not want to rain swords over someone else’s body. I would rather do it to myself” (Anju Dodiya, Real in Realism, Vadhera Art Gallery, October 2002)
In reference to this work, Dodiya emphasizes the violent nature of the creative process for her through Hindu myth and allegory: “Shiva inspires the central image of the Nest. The ascetic, with a jatta that has a snake coming out of it, is an allegory for the creative process. The snake emerges from the jatta like ideas from the head. And this process is by no means simple. It is the burden of the artist to make sense of the madness of modern life. I have used this image of an idea tearing out of the brain, inspired by the birth of Athena out of Jupiter’s head, because the violence of the creative act cannot be denied.” (Ibid)