Javid Jah Viśuddha (Throat Chakra)

Aluminum, vinyl, wood. 90" diameter x 5" depth.

The traditional Sanksrit translation of Throat chakra is "especially pure" which characterizes the nature of ether - a rarified air in traditional cosmology wherein planets would orbit. It is this same region of the human body in which sounds are sculpted (hence the association with the 16 vowels of Sanskrit), thus giving throat chakra the identity of our sense of communication or the Mercury of our being.

This artwork is one of 7 pieces as part of the exhibition titled “The Universe Within.” Each piece functions as a tunnel characterized by the seven principal energy centers of the human body according to the ancient Vedic practice largely known today as Yoga.

The exhibition is developed on the traditional assumption that the human body is a microcosm of the Universe (a macrocosm). Thus, the 7 principle chakras or “wheels” along the human spinal cord are re-imagined as the 7 visible planets, sharing archetypal values from an esoteric perspective. The goal of this body of work is to provoke conversation about how the microcosm of the human body can be a catalyst for understanding our subtle and symbolic relationship with the universe.

The technique used to display the chakras is known as the Agamograph. This Op Art strategy was popularized by Yaacov Agaam in the mid-20th century to invite viewers to reconsider their relationship to time. As one walks around the artwork, our rhythm defines how another image is constructed, defying the notion that there is an objective, linear trajectory of time. The ephemeral nature of the image contained in this technique is an appropriate way to discuss the idea of the chakra - it is an elusive encounter, one that requires an imaginative contemplation - an awareness that is not static or singular, but dynamic and fluctuating, somehow transcending our five primary senses and the limits of the rational mind.