ARTIST BHARTI PRAJAPATI’S NEW SERIES EXPLORING BEEJ - THE SEED

After the tremendous success of artist Bharti Prajapati’s series Paanch Tattva, which she introduced in 2019, she has now embarked on a new series in 2024. The Paanch Tattva paintings connected the life stages of women to the five elements of water, earth, fire, air and space, which she discussed in a previous blog. Similarly, her recent canvases focus on another natural phenomenon, Beej — The Seed.

What follows are Bharti’s own words on the concept of the seed and its symbolic power in her latest series.

Beej — The Seed

by Bharti Prajapati

In Hinduism, the Sanskrit term for ‘Beej’ — literally meaning ‘seed’ — is used as a metaphor for the origin or cause of things. ‘Beej’ is a cognate with ‘bindu,’ or dot. For many years, I have been drawn towards the mystery of this powerful and potent creation of nature ‘Beej,’ the seed.

A casual visit to a rural market where women wore necklaces of various local seeds initiated a process of thoughts and ideas for my latest collection of paintings. The seeds strung around these women’s necks like pearls seemed to complete the portrait of an ever-powerful, life-giving force — a woman, like the earth, carries seeds of existence within her. To me, it seemed natural to draw a parallel story of both women’s and seed’s journeys, which are deeply connected and intertwined with each other.

The immense characteristic encompassed in a tiny form was something I desired to interpret in my paintings. My new series, Beej, is all about the journey of the seed within our physical and philosophical existence and its evolution in our surroundings.

 Women are an intrinsic part of rural farming in India, and their instinctive nature enables them to nurture the seed of life within and around them organically. As in my previous series exploring the synchronicity of the feminine and the natural, women are central figures in this series, too.

The earthen walls are aptly symbolic of our environment, and within the walls are seeds, like jewels sown in the land. With the right atmosphere, they will manifest into a new world with an immense bounty of treasures that we liberally receive as a gift from nature. We depend on the land for our survival and sustenance.

While the cosmos are an alluring mystery, I wish to look below, at the magic happening beneath our feet. From within the dark depths of the earth, when the rays of sun pierce the land, there is a beautiful drama of light and shadow playing out on the stage of life. As seasons change and time goes on, seeds and soil continuously create new life. This interplay of forms and patterns create a distinct mood, which I believe has a subconscious effect on our mind.

This mystery of creation and the complex play of seeds and earth — both the macro and micro drama of evolution, cycling for eternity — are my prime inspiration to create this latest collection of the Beej.

For more images and insight into her nature-inspired practice, please visit https://laasyaart.com/bharti-prajapati/ to browse our curated collection of contemporary paintings by Indian artist Bharti Prajapati. If you would like to make an appointment to see these works in person at our Indian art gallery in Palo Alto, please reach out at info@laasyaart.com or +1 650-770-9088.