बिस्तर मन्थन (The Churning of the Sheets)
पृष्ठेभ्राम्यदमन्दमन्दरिगिरग्रावाग्रकण्डूयना-
न्निद्रालो: कमठाकृ तेभर्गवत: श्वासािनला: पान्तुव: ।
यत्संस्कारकलानुवतर्नवशाद्वेलािनभेनाम्भसां
यातायातमतिन्द्रतंजलिनधेनार्द्यािप विश्राम्यित ॥ २ ॥
While the colossal mountain Mandara — being used as a churner — rotates on his back,
Vishnu, in his turtle form, begins to feel drowsy and breathes deeply,
From the force of his primal inhalations and exhalations, the waters of the cosmic ocean crash forward and pull back on the shores —
an ebb and flow of the tides and currents that continues till today.
— Bhāgavata Purāna, 12.13.2
बिस्तर-मन्थन (The Churning of the Sheets) 2024
Pure silver on Arches oil paper, grounded with rabbit skin glue, marble dust, gouache, and indigo
48 x 80 inches
बिस्तर-मन्थन is a silverpoint drawing of a post-coital bed done to the scale of an ‘antique mattress’. However, the alchemy of silver, marble dust, rabbit skin glue, and indigo in the work seem to allow this carnal and quotidian scene to stir up a celestial tableau of mythic proportions. The crumpled sheets begin to swirl into whirlpools, the peaks and folds of fabric become crests and troughs of waves, and clusters of creases turn to spume — all harkening back to the first churning of the seas: the samudra manthan.
In the classical legend of the samudra manthan, the gods and the demons churn the primordial ocean in order to produce amrit, the nectar of immortality. It is perhaps apt then that the lovers’ bed be compared to this divine episode, as the moments of pleasure achieved through the churning of the sheets are maybe the only glimpses which us earthly beings are afforded at the elusive elixir of life.
“In Nephology I, II and III, Chakrabarti draws bedsheets on indigo grounded paper made from old linens—marking a subject onto its past life through silverpoint drawings as though it were both a revision and recollection. Titled as the study of clouds, it opens itself out to an exercise of watching and observing as personal experiences. In her juxtapositions of body, bed, cloud, sky, Chakrabarti allows for wonder to filter in from the expanse of the sky and seep out into the possibilities of intimacy in the bedroom.”
— excerpt from کروٹ | करवट | Karvat (2024) exhibition text by Mario D’Souza
Nephology I // 2024
Pure silver on paper handmade from used bed linens, indigofera tinctoria, rabbit skin glue, marble dust
27 x 22 inches
Nephology II // 2024
Pure silver on paper handmade from used bed linens, indigofera tinctoria, rabbit skin glue, marble dust
27 x 22 inches
