Journey of the Mind is the latest exhibition at New Art Exchange, in which artist Kanwar Singh presents a carefully curated collection of digital paintings and handmade drawings that explore the compassion of Sikh prophets in a world ruled by ego…
The display at Nottingham’s New Art Exchange explores the belief that there is a rooted cause of all mental anguish that acts as an exacerbating force in the collective, societal suffering. The purpose of the piece acts as a reminder that by cultivating control and calm, our mind can be the conduit for a healthier, peace-focused society.
The lessons of the ten different gurus of the Sikh faith purposefully harken back to a surfeit of contemporary moral dilemmas, and there is truly something for everyone to reflect on with this exhibition. The artworks have names that offer a sentence on the folly of fleeting thoughts and society's fanatical devotion to materialism. Several pieces in particular invoke this sentiment very powerfully, including…
‘To accept faith in the face of adversity with courage.’
Sri Guru Arjan Dev JI. 1563.
The digital artwork of this title details the days of torture the fifth guru endured on refusal to acquiesce under tyrannical pressure. This piece emphasises how, by transcending past ‘hollow distracts’, one can harness a deep sense of inner peace. For me, this homes in our current cultural obsession with social capital. It acts as a self-reminder to untie oneself from the bonds of the material plane. By removing yourself from the fast flow of eternal strife, you open your soul up to a higher form of learning. Our ability to constantly consume distorts this process of learning and this piece urges one toward the practice of self-limitation. The limitation to the inner world is said to be the only route to peace and salvation.
Journey of the Mind combines Sikh Orthodoxy with a subversive style of storytelling that provides one with the opportunity to self-reflect and enact mindful changes
‘A Clear Mind is Peace and Strength’
Sri Guru Ramdas Ji 1534
This painting illustrates the fourth prophet’s tiresome consummation of a vast physical replica of a temple said to be representative of his inner soul. The detailed physical exertion in this piece urges one toward devotion and dedication. The artist, Kanwar Singh, believes it teaches that ‘by stopping internal chatter, inner peace can be achieved’. Just as with the previous piece, this notion remains integral to our current cultural framework. It has become entirely too easy to occupy the mind with fleeting fickle interests, but by devoting yourself to your own inner dialogue, you can essentially disengage from the unnecessary and become entirely in tune with your true purpose.
‘Seva and Accepting Faith’
Bhai Taru Siingh Ji
The latter half of the gallery exhibits traditional Sikh pencil drawings, including one of Bhai Taru, a Sikh martyr who sacrificed his life in order to uphold his moral values. This death is said to represent the complete separation of mind from physical body - and by muting external noise, Bhai Taru was able to ascend past suffering into a higher, astral realm. Again, in the context of modern society's disjuncture from virtue, this story provides a multitude of personal moral incentives to spiritually self-regulate in the quest for salvation.
The exhibition also involves an audible invitation to partake in your own self-reflection. A short film animated by Christian Wood plays in tandem with the Sikh Mantra Simran. Simran is said to still the ‘inequalities and ignorance’ of the external world and by allowing these mantras to envelop your thoughts, they are said to be ‘eliminated’ with your mind ‘completely cleansed’. This segment of the exhibition teaches the esoteric significance of quietness - with the ability to sit in the silence of your own thoughts being one of highest skills inside of current comfort reliance on social media scrolling.
Journey of the Mind combines Sikh Orthodoxy with a subversive style of storytelling that provides one with the opportunity to self-reflect and enact mindful changes in a world full of fleeting devotion and fast-paced materialism.
Journey of the Mind is on display at New Art Exchange until Saturday 22 April
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