PALACE OF THE WINDS

2003 | mirror fragments, indian yellow, natural gum, animal glue, mica, cotton thread, indian handmade paper, oil puja lamp, mustard oil | paper dimensions: 56 x 68 cm | Embassy of Japan / Sanskriti Foundation, New Delhi, India

supported by: Embassy of Japan, New Delhi, UNESCO-ASCHBERG Bursaries for Artists - International Fund for the Promotion of Culture, Sanskriti Foundation | special thanks: O. P. Jain, Nomita Dargan, Jaya Parthawk, Munnilal

In January 2003, I visited Hawa Mahal - Palace of the Winds (1799) in Jaipur. The 953 windows facing the street feature stone-carved screens which allowed the ladies of the court to watch processions and other activities unobserved by the outside world. While looking through these windows, I also discovered a number of openings that looked to the sky. Many of them were almost like peepholes, the view off the blue sky fragmented and blocked by a fine latticework of lime plaster. Some openings were completely sealed by stratified plasters. The obscured openings seemed a metaphor for the relationship between the world and us.

New Delhi, India, 2003