A Black Substance / Substancia Nigro

Ousia/Being
A Black Substance / Substancia Nigro

In recent project Palkhisohala, I have been drawing, taking photographs, absorb minds of people, meeting to strangers too and documenting incidents in visual forms. Many photographs are taken as critical observation of objects and its artistic value in area of appreciation. Object or subject takes attention to view and chew. In visual documentation one need to know what is importance of images is. Monument is objet that explain era of history and document shows literary evidence of agreement or any treaty. Personal letters and sketches have been subjective matter in substantial evidence against any incident or crime as well as in literature. Dehu Palkhisohala (Palanquin Procession) is going on last 325 years. Actually I have been intrested to document this in unique manner. Year 2008 was Sant Tukaram’s 400th birth anniversary year. I had opportunity to be in India. So I decide to follow Dehu Palkhisohala by live drawings. It’s a life experience itself. I invite local artists and art schools which are on the route of Dehu Palkhisohala. Enthusiastically some of them have been reacted on my appeal.


Concept grows in mind while travelling with project “show your hope” through out Europe and India. What would I do with thousand and thousands of images taken in journey? Developing this A Black Substance I read some of western philosophical chapters. Its curiosity and interest of an artist grew in wide range of subjects. Since I have been writing poems, painting, drawing and sculpting I observed myself that I have been very meditative person in my life. Well I lived my life ignoring some of facts and practices which is not related to modern time meditations. But concentrating on subjects and following logical development of its innovative route. I found some way of working with images and produced the visuals that supports thought of these philosophies which described in this book.

In discussion with some of my friends in The Netherlands who are Indian culture lovers as well as critical writers found and agree the subject of Vithoba is parallel to the concept of substance in Western philosophy. Tukaram has described in his Abhang. All his affections to god Vithoba are substantial manner and Jnandev describes god in beginning in Marathi version is acceptance of substance. Later in western philosophy while stoicism and Spinoza hold that there is only one substance.
Last some years I read more Spinoza in context of his monumental House standing in front of my Studio in The Hague. He was contemporary to Sant Tukaram. It is coincident that I work on Sant Tukaram‘s Abhang to translate into Visual and arrives at door of Spinoza. Everyday I am seeing Spinoza statue and thinking on Tukaram’s poetry. Some of my Indian writer friends making jokes on it. And making notes in their writing. Another dimension of this whole site is the along side lane of my studio. It is prostitution street front of spinoza’s House and statue and alongside of my studio and gallery. Just around corner it lots of controversy of visitors and spectators.

Photography is a subject which refers evidential matter to substance theory. It contents light and dark (black) matter. In each step light increases the darker part changes his image identity. In surface terms image changes his visual identification. In three dimension matter it changes identity but property stays same. Each corridor frame and identity of object changes its property and appears as separate image in special form. Negative or positive position of image transforms again identity of image. Hue, contrast and are making numerically gradation or provides more images of one single image. The image of Being (Ousia) being captured into light and formed on surface. Quality of light means intensity of light on object or just in space has been proves image identification. (As substance or ousia is a permanent property of an object without which the object no longer remains itself and therefore becomes some other object.)


In this book I have worked on photograph images to arrive at artistic images. This days computer software made easier to transform images into your own will. It may help technically but artistic judgments are based on own experience. Photography becomes part of routine while practicing in Art. It has given enormous image data. This day making short art films and editing it makes me thing to obtain black and white images which keeps your imagination in flow. It has been proved to producing these images. I am surprised more then ever. There is always something difference in light and substantial change in the air.