Anju Dodiya’s work has maintained a constant suffusion of art historical references, which she incorporates into her personalized narrative. Her work indicates the creative struggle to develop as well as deconstruct ideas, images, and the critical discussion of art. The artist explains the reference used in this work to highlight that creative struggle: “Even in my earlier Daphne work, instead of turning into a tree, a plant...
Anju Dodiya’s work has maintained a constant suffusion of art historical references, which she incorporates into her personalized narrative. Her work indicates the creative struggle to develop as well as deconstruct ideas, images, and the critical discussion of art. The artist explains the reference used in this work to highlight that creative struggle: “Even in my earlier Daphne work, instead of turning into a tree, a plant she transforms into a labyrinth. When I started this painting the woman was wearing this corset and it is from a 30’s ad. It’s a corset like garment, but her body is almost flying, it is paradoxical. The restraining aspect of the corset and then this gesture of freedom. I was reminded immediately of Daphne as she appears in a lot of renaissance and pre-renaissance art. Arms thrown up as she transforms into a tree. That’s how the painting started for me. But then I put in, and they are very tiny, I don’t know if you can see them, the motif of a ring and a button and there’s what I thought was a rattle but was later enlightened – it is a horse’s bit, the restraining metal check…
I was thinking of some contemporary version where she is not escaping from Apollo. It is an escape from the tyranny of the mundane. It is about freedom. And it goes beyond sexual freedom. It’s not about escaping the chase, it’s about a situation of complete independence. A total liberation as if. But also, the strange thing is that mutating into a labyrinth is not liberation. So we are getting into a mess” (Anju Dodiya in an interview with Geive Patel, Exhibition catalogue, Bose Pacia, New York, 2006)