As we near the official end of Summer (according to the calendar), I reflect on all that has happened the past 3 months and beyond.
We have been living in a COVID world since February/March of 2020, depending on where you were when it started. Many families have lost loved ones and friends; and I sincerely hope your family and friends are healthy and safe; and will remain so.
Suffice it to say, the emotional aspect of this pandemic has been front of mind for all of us over these many months.
This past year, one of my very close friends learned she had stage 1 triple negative breast cancer. Recalling my days in pharmaceuticals, particularly when I worked in Oncology and Breast Cancer, I knew this was one of the harder cancers to treat. I am grateful that her diagnosis came in the early stages as she has been able to recover and is on her way back to health. Unbeknownst to her, she was the inspiration for “Healing Anahata I” pictured below.
And then, I thought about all the illnesses, trauma and emotional scars the world is collectively experiencing as we go through hurricanes, forest fires, the pandemic and the political divisions within our family and friends.
Living in Japan for nearly 8 years has been one of the best experiences and learning journeys of my life. Aside from my Artistic training, I learned a lot about the culture, the food and the people. I learned approaching hardship with grace and to recover from that hardship with resilience.
The Japanese Art of Kintsugi is an Art that taught me these concepts in deeper details. Resilience is something we must choose daily; not just in response to major hardships, but also from minor daily frustrations, annoyances, and infractions. I compare it to training for a marathon where you need to build endurance. The Pandemic has demanded the “do or die” situation, literally.
In its physical form, the art of Kintsugi is where tree sap and gold splicing are used to mend broken pottery. Nothing is wasted, all is preserved albeit in a different form. This represents an evolution of the form that encompasses the breaks and imperfections; elevating it to a form of beauty and re-purposing it to an Artistic sculpture to be admired and cherished. You can find an article I wrote about it here.
It is the basis for one of my collections and my newest series called “The Kintsugi Body”. In my desire to communicate spiritual peace and calm through my artwork, unbeknownst to her; my friend inspired me to paint “Healing Anahata I”. In Chakra philosophies, Anahata represents the 4th chakra, the Heart. The 4th Chakra also represents physical impacts to the Breast/Chest area.
Healing Anahata I - Mixed Media on Canvas - 23 x 30cm/9x12 in
“Once I overcame breast cancer, I wasn’t scared of anything anymore” - Melissa Etheridge
illness/disease/cancer doesn’t have to define anyone; but we do have to accept that it is a part of us. In many chronic diseases and long-term global health emergencies, stages of healing will oscillate. When it seems we’ve taken 3 steps forward, we have to take 5 steps back. Still, we can recover and evolve as a stronger person, family and/or community. While the vision of our life will have to change to account for this part of us, it can also be a catalyst for a new improved version.
As I think back to my 20 years spent in the pharmaceutical industry, I had the pleasure of working across many different disease states, including pain, epilepsy, cancer, urological dysfunctions, among others. With a role in strategic analytics, I had the benefit of first-hand information from doctors, patients and caregivers regarding the burden these and other diseases placed on the patient, the caregiver, the family, the community and society.
Quite a few common themes emerge from this time in my career.
1. Patients worry about the burden placed on family members.
2. Depending on the disease, patients and/or caregivers feel a significant degree of loneliness and isolation – especially when support groups are not easy to attend or available.
3. Whether It’s migraines, back/joint/hip pain, a broken arm/leg/wrist, epilepsy, cancer, depression, anxiety, ADHD; the self-description of the patient by the patient will contain varying degrees of ugliness, weakness, burden, lack of dependence and self-loathing.
I wish to communicate an alternative vision with my Art. Like the Art of Kintsugi, the imperfections, the illness, the trauma can be mended. We can recover. Some may need more “gold-splicing” than others, but it is possible. There is hope.
I expect this is a series I will continue for some time, as it draws from my previous career as well as my current one as an Artist.
I’m proud to say that I will be presenting 5 of these artworks at the upcoming XIII Florence Biennale in Italy this October. I’m excited to see the reaction of and obtain feedback from an extended community of Artists, curators, critics and art lovers.
I invite you to browse the entire Kintsugi series thus far here
Until next time,
I wish you and your family health, wellness and calm… and I leave you with a few more artworks in this collection.
My very Best,
Rajul
As Always, I love to hear your thoughts! Please do leave me a comment below. If you are interested in obtaining these or any other works; or wish to engage my artistic talents in a commission, please email me at Rajul@rajulshahart.com
Reconstruction - Mixed Media on Canvas - 61 x 91cm/24 x 36in
“After fear, after grief comes reconstruction” - Anonymous
Healing Vishuddha I - Mixed Media on Canvas - 23x30cm/9x12in
“Cancer is a word, not a sentence” - John Diamond
Reclamation - Mixed Media on Canvas - 61 x 91cm/ 24 x 36in
“An injury is not just a process of recover, it’s a process of discovery” - Conor McGregor