1. KATHARSIS IN A FORBIDEN ZONE
Painting, Sculpture, Installation
by
Dimple B Shah

2. The works in the exhibition at Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore, India
represent, epitomise and evoke various alchemical substances to
suggest a precise examination of their properties, the laboratory
paraphernalia alluding to different stages of purification and
transformation, while a host of more or less ordinary objects link the
findings of the quasi-science and modern scholarship with the
character of our reality, human imperfections or impurities as well
as hope and ideals. The large canvases deal with the basic
classical metals of alchemy in a manner that binds them with and
lets them disclose rudimentary qualities of the human disposition.
The artist begins from a position of neutral objectivity and in the
centre of the paintings places a researcher’s table whose frontal
position in vanishing point perspective seems to display it clearly to
the viewer. The table covered by white cloth introduces the sense
of an old-fashioned study but with a tinge of domestic interior. The
vessels for chemical experiments and a profusion of other objects
demonstrate their nature and connections at various planes. With
the help of the titles one can grasp some of the content, whereas,
indeed, like in the obscure science of alchemy, the specific, often
complex relationships between motifs necessitate detailed
elucidation. On longer scrutiny, the objects arranged so as to
indicate their condition begin to stir responding to one another. As
one recalls the words denoting energy, flow and spirit that recur in
Dimple’s drawings, the items on the table top which usually include
devices that heat substances contained in glass retorts appear to
enact self-presentation and transformation, like performers
explaining themselves to the attentive audience. The sense of a
nearly theatrical scene is enhanced by the large format of the
paintings that invite an immediate, static focus from the spectator.

3. Saturn's Gravitas

4. Silent View

5. The precise, sparing realism of the rendering here aims at lucid objectivity, and yet an imperceptive mood of
enigmatic, fragile transmutation emerges with the glossy translucence of the glass tubes, beaked containers,
smooth bowls and globes, etc. The atmosphere gains an eerie note spreading into the saturated, murky
backgrounds that conjure an endless landscape engulfing the sky merged with the ground over an expanse of
flatness and indistinct depth, its darkness not relieved by the tonalities of ominous, muted radiance
conjuring a somewhat surrealistic impact. The intuition of the real and the subconscious blends then, as a
home interior contrasts as well as blends with the external space indicative of its cosmic dimensions, the
artist considering her theme at the same time on the micro and macro scale, at the personal and social or all-
encompassing levels.

6. Hydrargayrum

7. Great Expectation

8. Hydro Sound

9. Life Essence

10. Dream Machine

11. Unheard Melody

12. The installation is a shower cubicle broad enough
to accommodate a single person, modern and
rudimentary of character but reverberating of
scared bath rituals. The steel shower head, pipes
and basin may be ordinary, their glimmering
smoothness yet exuding a minimalist aesthetic
finesse. The four external walls studded with
hundreds and hundreds of tiny glass bottles with
hair and nail shavings, with ash and salt conjure
an impact that is raw, fragile and perishable as
well as enchantingly ephemeral when the
translucent sheets fill with immaterial radiance
against light. The substances in the phials
represent the physical frame, the medical
allusiveness of the samples in their containers
suggesting illness but also a possibility of cure.
The empty space surrounded by curtains inscribed
with the enigmas of alchemy, between the shower
and the basin strewn with grain salt is intended to
hold and cleanse the invisible spirit, the body and
the soul never to be considered alien. The
sensitivity and the senses of the person entering
the cubicle become engaged on multiple levels,
the sight heightened and completed by the smell
and the sound of water along with alchemical
process hymns.

13. Dimple’s art works, each one separately and all of them together, idiosyncratically parallel the complex ways
of alchemical procedures and the wonders of purifying and distilling whose aim is to attain the true core of
substances in their transmutation into gold, which signifies both understanding of the real nature of things and
of one’s inner self. The recurrence of obscure Latin terms in confrontation and bond with normal motifs lets
one recognise that things lofty and refined can be located only in simple life. Thus, the comparison and
identification of alchemy with art becomes proved or revealed as inherently evident. The true self of an
individual cannot be comprehended apart from the world of other corporeal souls. It cannot even be relished
lonesome because values and good feelings are born in contact with and through their echo in other sentient
entities. The artist then strives to involve the spectators in response to the content of her works which are
expected to trigger involvement and interaction.

14. The second, conclusive installation, “Frozen Accidents
(Chrysopoeia)” needs viewers to set it in motion and
internalise it so that its meaning can be manifested or
each time recreated. The gold-making machine, a black
oven-box on wheels has to continually heat a copper
heart stuck barbeque-like on a rod until it can turn into
liquid and become gold. Although conceived by Dimple,
the contraption can be set to rotate only by the viewer,
the affection of whose heart is assumed to make the
process possible as well as connect with the artist. The
spectator’s capacity for love will reciprocate the luminous
fire in the alchemical vessel, its force multiplied and
allowed to increase speed thanks to its own reflection in
the mirror. The desired result uniting and transforming
people thanks to their seeing themselves on others is
expressed here by a metaphor sourced from
psychotherapy and psychoanalysis.

15. Metamorphic Reflux Distillation Vessel – I & II

16. “I am a firm believer of the quotation, and hence have used my works
across different periods of time to highlight the state of the society
and unveil the ‘truth’. In my work each element is represented
through its character and quality. Lead has a satanic quality, it is
compared with the planet Saturn that symbolizes time and death.
I have used this character as metaphor. Investigative agencies have
found excessive lead levels in bones and hair samples of criminals,
which is a very clear indication of the connection between increases
in crime rates in our present society. I have displayed this in my work
“Satan’s Gravitas”. Scientifically speaking Saturn has reverse
gravity which is a metaphor for negativity. “Silent View” illustrates
just a single bullet on the table in a surrealistic landscape to display
the power of the metal iron in our society. Iron is now synonymous
with wars, weapons and violence, for disputes arising out of land and
territories. In “Hydrargayrum” the metal mercury plays an important
role. It has a typical chameleon nature – always fluctuating between
solid and liquid state. It also plays an important role in the
amalgamation of different metals. Research has shown a high level of
mercury found in fish, which has an adverse effect on human health.
“Great Expectation” speaks about silver. In history and present
times, silver has always been connected to dreamy worlds and
poetry. The lunar influence on metal also adds to the quality and
character of the metals for eg: the black and white images of
photography where silver is used to bring out the images, and it has
also been linked to film industries “silver screen’.
Dimple B Shah

17. The word lunatic, which has lunar influences, is also linked with the moon. In “Frozen Moment” I have
illustrated the metal gold. Through my work I have metaphorically depicted the marriage of male and female to
get the purest self. The canvas shows a research table used by an alchemist to extract gold, while the material
for the extraction is human, represented by a human heart. In this alchemical vessel the human is transformed
through heat and fire or unconditional love… undergoing the process of an alchemical marriage between ying
and yang, the male and female part of the self to extract the “purest self or real self”. Gold is always linked with
the heart, since gold represents the emotional part of humans. Gold, when heated gives out vibrant colors,
shown vividly in my work. It is also attributed to having a healing effect and that’s why Colloidal Gold is used for
the treatment of individuals with severe depression and heart problems. “Reminiscence” is a set of 20 small
illustrations created, using references from alchemical images derived from various sources. They have been
juxtaposed together and represented as old remains.
In “Metamorphic Reflux Distillation Vessel”, the 2 copper pieces represent the distillation apparatus for
purification. The design is developed with references from indigenous traditional boilers and other cooking
vessels used across homes in daily life. The module has been designed to get the process for double filtrations
(reflux) so that we achieve the purest form. The first model is made with reference to the Indian boiler used to
heat water and has been specially chosen because the heating process is carried out in the central part with
natural sources. From there it moves to the reflux filter where impure vapors and pure vapors are sent to the
next stage of condensation. Finally cooled in the center and turned into liquid form, it travels to the next stage of
multiple filtrations, to finally derive the purest essence. The second sculpture is made with a combination of
different vessels such as the tea jar, steaming jar and boiler.
Frozen Accidents, Chrysopoeia, is a gold making machine where the human heart is in a constant process of
liquefaction till it turns into gold. This can metaphorically be linked to one that has constantly gone through the
cleansing process to realize one’s true self. Fire is an important element in alchemy and purification. Through
constant heat and burning one can extract the real essence of the element. I have used mirror in my work to
amplify the effect of heat so as to speed up the process. In this work I have used some of the script used in old
alchemical text which is not clearly readable, and is in the process of revealing its hidden secret.

18. Tin Cry (Performance) is a video installation piece where I attempt to preserve my body and soul from
decomposition but in the process I realize that it is a completely impossible task since the tin/aluminum foil
which is used to preserve food and other items cannot preserve life, and so it cannot preserve my body and
soul from corrosion. It is a conditional preservation, the whole act becoming a Paradoxical Act. The video is
supported by audio, talking about the experience during my performance. “Catharsis Chamber” represents
my concept in total purification of body and soul. The outer part of the body is represented by ash, salt, nail and
hair samples. The inner part is an empty box. It has a shower that is a part of the process of purification, with
hymns, to enhance the process. Integrated with the elements of sound and smell, the effect is to enhance the
audience’s experience”.
‘Frozen Accidents” is used in relevance to its metaphoric meaning. It represents a heart, which is in a
constant state of transformation through the burning process, finally turning itself into gold. The process of
transformation is incomplete without the participation of the audience involving themselves with the work. I want
my audience and I to go through the process of transformation in this alchemical vessel simultaneously. In this
process the audience will go through different stages of healing and transformation with the warmth of love/fire
in the vessel. This state can be very well explained, with the reference of psychotherapy sessions in
psychoanalysis - something similar happens during psychotherapy. For much of the time it is the patient who is
speaking while the therapist generally exercises what Freud called "non-judgmental listening". As the sessions
continue, the therapist may prompt, reflect back to the patient what has been said, or at times throw out a little
suggestion or even advice. In more intense cases, the processes of transference begins, in which intense
feelings are invoked within the patient. In those cases where projective identification occurs, the therapist may
even become directly aware of contents of the patient's mind. But in all these cases the therapist still attempts
to bracket his or her own feelings, thoughts and reactions in order not to contaminate the therapeutic process.
Nevertheless several skilled therapists have told me of those magical moments in which all boundaries
disappear, moments in which it is not possible to say "where is the healing", or who is the patient and who is the
therapist. On those occasions patient and therapist enter the alchemical vessel together and are warmed by
unconditional love. It is in those moments that the miracle of healing takes place. The Jungian therapist Beverly
Zabriskie has referred to this as the healing of “Frozen Accidents", that is, the melting away of those
"accidents" from childhood that have remained frozen within one. Therapy and insight may go some way
towards the process of thawing, but in the last analysis it requires the heat of love. I hope for a similar effect of
human contact with the art work.

19. Thank You