UMIKA MEDIRATTA SHRIRAM

Mural Project, Flores Island, Azores, Portugal

Umika’s collaboration with Choki involved the community effort of Flores Island to revitalize the weary landscape of the town with natural Thangka elements. The white canvas were people´s homes, commercial buildings, and other local institutions.

Umika brought together the traditional elements of Thangka art, going on from a selection of flowers such as hydrangeas, lotus, and the waves of the Ocean. In a challenging environment, massive scale artwork, and great amounts of motivation, Umika left her inspiration in the heart of the Atlantic.

“Last year, the artist worked in collaboration with the Government of Portugal to create murals on abandoned or neglected properties across Flores Island. She created eight murals over a period of three months, with the help from voluntary members of the local community.“ – Hindustan Times

Umika is featured in the Azorean short film “Nature of Insight” where she is sharing her passion for painting in Flores as an international artist.

Transitional Spaces

ABOUT DVAARA: VIHAARA

This installation casts a philosophical gaze on the reality of each moment in life being a point of transition. It expresses this by referencing the Buddhist concept of the innate potential that each of us possess. The four Brahmavihaaras or elements of love are Maitreyi (love), Mudita (joy), Karuna (compassion) and Upeksha (equanimity). A Vihaara is an abode or a dwelling place. The Brahmavihaaras are called “immeasurable” because, when practised, they grow until they embrace the whole world. We can each access this blissful state through the Dvaara of our choosing, but a lasting happiness often eludes us. This cyclical journey as we manifest multiple worlds is Dvaara: Vihaara, the door and the abode.

In today’s context, where hatred, intolerance and greed continue to fragment and erode our environment, this is a space in which to heal and connect with a stillness that may open the door to an inward journey. The concept is expressed through the form of a mandala, a sacred space. The circle in the centre is a symbol of wholeness and a connection to the universe. It also represents the oneness and unity that is at the heart of the transcendental experience. Each door signifies a Brahmavihaara and leads into the central space. This installation inverts ideas of resource/waste by combining almost entirely of recycled and reusable materials such as: railway sleeper wood, stone waste, gravel, sand, steel flats and acrylic.