Ahimsa IV

Ahimsa IV
अहिंसा IV
12" x 12"
Acrylic and Gold Leaf 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 fourth piece in the Ahimsa series is an attempt at nonviolence, to bear witness to all emotion – fear, resolve, protest, triumph, - with compassion.  
 
I can’t help but be me in these moments, so the piece is moody, raw, cheeky (ergo the visual pun).  The red waning moon is cyclical, evoking menses, mothers, a loss of rights.  The phases of the moon are cyclical – what appears to wane will one day wax.  This push pull is illusory, the moon stays the same.  What changes is our perception, us earth bound observers. 
 
This smaller piece, at a lower price point came from a desire to be inclusionary.  So many of you have reached out about the Ahimsa series and I want to honor your desire to own my pieces, while respecting my labor.
 
Being non-violent, being patient, hopeful, vulnerable took so much more out of me than throwing things in rage.  Reminding myself to see this moment as temporary, to remember my agency as it seemed to wane, was a challenge.
 
 
मोह माया व्यापे नहि जेने,
दृढ़ वैराग्य जेना मनमां रे ।
 
Excerpt from ‘Vaishnava Jana To’ by 15th century Gujarati Poet, Narsinh Mehta.