Atul Dodiya is a contemporary Indian artist that works over a broad range of mediums. From assemblages and sculptures, to works on paper and paintings. Dodiya engages with both political and art history and connects that with Indian culture. In a lot of his works, Dodiya references myths, religion and folklore. In Sabari With Her Birds, Dodiya references an episode in the Ramayana. This text embodies the fundamental concepts of Hinduism.
'Shocked by the killing of birds for her wedding feast, Sabari renounces marriage and lives as a hermit in the forest. For many years she seeks out the single sweetest fruit in preparation for God’s visit. Finally Rama, an avatar of the supreme god Vishnu and hero of the Ramayana, wanders by and Sabari offers him the fruit. Although she has bitten it to test its sweetness (and so defiled it), Rama recognizes that the gift comes from her deep devotion and eats. In bliss, Sabari dies. '
Dodiya layers his work with the imagery of mythic, national and personal references. Sabari's actions symbolizes the grinding passage of her time. The red branches holding the birds reflects both the horrifying wedding feast and her union with the natural world. Dodiya has also linked this imagery to the ancient Indian motif of a woman intertwined with a tree.
In Woman from Kabul, Dodiya has created a work about living in Afghanistan at the turn of the millennium. He recall a country that was once rich in history, but now it has collapsed from the weight of war. The elderly woman is revealed as skin and bones and squats over a decorative backdrop. Here, Dodiya is referenced the oppression and poverty that has taken over the city. He highlights the plight of the refugee.
