Stevenson
10.02 - 15.03.2024

“Basant is the time when flowers bloom and the invisible flowers bloom everywhere in flesh and rock too.” – Shine Shivan.

While it is common for artists to explore lighthearted subject matter, there is often an unspoken expectation that their work should be profound, provocative, and ‘serious.’ In a bold departure from this expectation, Shine Shivan’s solo exhibition, Basant, raised questions about the value of art by addressing themes associated with delight. By showcasing works that explore tenderness, love, and peace, Shivan challenged viewers to reconsider what subjects are deemed worthy of artistic exploration, especially in the midst of turmoil and turbulence.

Shine Shivan, Amber, 2023. Courtesy of Stevenson and the artist.

Lotus flowers arranged in white bowls graced the entrance of the Stevenson in Johannesburg, where Shivan’s Basant was exhibited. Floor-to-ceiling drawings featuring scenes inspired by Vedic myth adorned the gallery walls. The exhibition Basant, Spring in Hindi, presented viewers with a poignant meditation on joy and love and a moment of quiet reflection in a temple-like setting. The gallery transcended its original form and became a place of worship, a shrine to Shivan’s devotions. 

The scale of Shivan’s works is overpowering. Most of the drawings span across the walls, engulfing the viewer in the artist’s visual language. Sometimes, one has to take a step back to experience the full impact of the work, as a closer view distorts the image. Several smaller drawings provided visual relief from the more extensive works and featured more straightforward compositions while still carrying the narrative thread of the exhibition – one of love and joy. Pale shades of green, ochre, crimson, and ultramarine imbued the works with a springtime feeling when nature first awakens.

Shine Shivan, Prem Swaroop (Basant), 2023. Courtesy of Stevenson and the artist.

In Prem Swaroop (Basant), two figures stood in languid embrace, their feet crossed in a gesture of intimacy and tenderness. The dark background contrasts with the otherwise vibrant colours used for the foreground and plants, framing the centre of the image. The figure on the left, their head adorned with peacock feathers, plays a woodwind instrument, indicating the importance of music in traditional Vedic spirituality. The close embrace of the two is an expression of love and affection, and the crossed diagonal lines of their bodies create an interesting visual effect. The image of two figures embracing could be found in several works, perhaps as a symbol of spring’s softness. 

In some ways, the drawings are like paintings, the pastel and charcoal blending seamlessly. Some of the drawings seemed unfinished, with empty white spaces held together by loose, textured lines, the pencil sketches visible through the pastel or, in the case of Raas with Sarpa, watercolour. Amber presented the viewer with a broad panoramic view of two figures holding what appears to be a young child. The lines outlining the subjects’ bodies blended, and the three became one. Lotus leaves and flowers bloomed sumptuously in the background, some of the leaves drawn with careful detail, others still showing the rough textures of the pastel and charcoal against the paper. This fading in and out of detail, in and out of clarity, created the sense that Shivan’s forms move through different states of being. In this sense, the artist explored what happens when a sketch becomes a drawing becomes a painting, finding moments where the images are fully resolved. 

Shine Shivan, Anand Swaroop, 2023. Courtesy of Stevenson and the artist.

The five-panel drawing, Anand Swaroop, featured figures in moments of ritual, showcasing Shivan’s exploration of joy found in devotion and ceremony. Expressions of this kind could be found in the various ways his figures interacted with space and one another. A line of dancing figures centred the middle panel of Anand Swaroop, their ankles adorned with bangles. On the opposite wall, elephants flanked each side of the doorway as divine guardians, facing inwards where Krishna danced with his consorts, Happiness and Bliss. Here, joy took the form of dancing and music-making, both integral parts of traditional spiritual practice. The work embodied a celebration of spirited movement and creative expression.

Walking through Basant felt like a pilgrimage. I was faced with questions about the value of joy in a time of great uncertainty, taking in work that contrasts our experience of the world as it currently is. Perhaps the emphasis on love and devotion allows the viewer to engage with art that focuses on (and returns to) joy while acknowledging the darker sides of the human experience. 

Installation View: Shine Shivan, Basant, 2024. Courtesy of Stevenson and the artist.