Anirudh Shaktawat
Fall, 2023
Pigment made from waste Lapis Lazuli (transitioning from unfiltered to filtered pigment) on wall plaster made with recycled POP and marble dust
54 x 27 in
137.2 x 68.6 cm
137.2 x 68.6 cm
Copyright The Artist
Fall delves into the material history of the color blue, its entwining with the notion of the void (as notably explored by Klein), and the utilization of this paradigm in...
Fall delves into the material history of the color blue, its entwining with the notion of the void (as notably explored by Klein), and the utilization of this paradigm in Sundaram’s oeuvre (particularly in works like Fly and The Brief Ascension of Marian Hussain) in order to illuminate material agency within artistic practices. It connects the alchemical process of extracting Ultramarine Blue from Lapis Lazuli to ideas of disembodied color, transcendence, and immateriality. The artwork positions itself along a conceptual and artistic spectrum stretching from Klein to Sundaram, unveiling a discourse that explores the historical contingency woven into both the concept of the void and the experience of blue. By presenting a gradient that goes from “unfiltered” Lapis powder to “filtered” pigment, the work doesn't just present a falling sky, but also plunges the color back into its elemental origins– the very depths of the earth. By doing so, the color’s experience is transformed from an abstract, immaterial interaction to a tangible, physical engagement. When considered within the historical context of frescoes in churches and Christian notions of heaven and transcendence, the color undergoes a process of "rematerialization". This intricacy further complicates the notion of the void, imbuing its hypothetical emptiness with pigments and particles, and linking its weight (or the lack of it) to artistic and historical developments.