Ahimsa III

Ahimsa III
अहिंसा III
6" x 6"
Mixed Media on Canvas
June 2022
 
Ahimsa is non-violence.   
 
I began this piece after the Dobbs v. Jackson SCOTUS decision on June 24, 2022.  We have been saturated with media coverage, and wiser minds have articulated deeply what this decision means, so this is not an analysis.  This series is about a simple personal resolve - I will respond to this verdict - my feelings, the feelings of others - with non-violence.
 
This third piece of the Ahimsa series is an attempt at nonviolence, to bear witness to all emotion – fear, triumph, denial, anger, sorrow - with compassion.  
 
I can’t help but be me in these moments, so the piece is raw determined, cheeky (ergo the visual pun).  This piece includes shreds of Justice Thomas’ concurring opinion.  There was something deeply cathartic about ripping into the hypocrisy buried in it. The concurrence foreshadowed fear for the future.
 
This smaller piece, at a lower price point came from a desire to be inclusionary.  So many of you have reached out about these pieces and I want to honor your desire to own my pieces, while respecting my labor.
 
Being non-violent, being patient, methodical, vulnerable took so much more out of me than throwing things in rage.  Burning with fear with ahimsa was a challenge.
 
 
जिह्वा थकी असत्य न बोले,
परधन नव झाले हाथ रे ॥
 
Excerpt from ‘Vaishnava Jana To’ by 15th century Gujarati Poet, Narsinh Mehta.