Important Notice

Often described by his biographer, Ranjit Hoskote, as a ‘techno-shaman’, Baiju Parthan’s cryptic images emerge from the interdigitation of his various dabblings in the fields of engineering, botany, philosophy, mythology, technology, religion and, eventually, the internet. Unsurprisingly, the artist’s rebus-like works, frequently constructed out of two or more panels, reflect the multiple layers, both complementary and conflicting, that frame... Often described by his biographer, Ranjit Hoskote, as a ‘techno-shaman’, Baiju Parthan’s cryptic images emerge from the interdigitation of his various dabblings in the fields of engineering, botany, philosophy, mythology, technology, religion and, eventually, the internet. Unsurprisingly, the artist’s rebus-like works, frequently constructed out of two or more panels, reflect the multiple layers, both complementary and conflicting, that frame contemporary existence.

In the mid 1990s, after Parthan acquired his first computer, his "…handling of pictorial space underwent a radical shift, as did his systems of reference and points of departure…The metaphor of code that had exercised him while he rendered the cartouches and tablets of his ‘ceremonial time’ phase now appeared in a new avatar: as binary code, digital encryption, a vehicle to carry vast cargoes of textual and visual data" (Ranjit Hoskote, Baiju Parthan: A User’s Manual, Afterimage Publishing, Mumbai, 2006, p. 44). With this shift, the artist’s painterly concerns also turned to probe the implications of technological developments on life, and especially on beliefs and perceptions.

In the present lot, Parthan juxtaposes a portrait of Pope Benedict XVI with a matrix-like assembly of letters and numbers. Explaining the contrast, Parthan says, "The twin panel is painted from the code that is revealed when the image of the Pope is translated through a hex editor" (rpt. in Source Code, Art Musings exhibition catalogue, 2006, unpaginated). An assertive supporter of fundamental Christian values and moral and objective truth, the traditionalism of the 78 year old Pope seems diametrically opposed to the black and white reality of data. Yet, in this large-format diptych, the Pope himself has been successfully rendered in the mysterious swirls of this universal idiom, irrespective of what he represents. Illustrating one of the most contentious dichotomies of our time, the intersection of age-old religious doctrine and beliefs with the relatively new, labyrinthine world of encrypted data flows, Parthan pushes his viewer to reexamine perceptions, rethink definitions and create new spaces in which such oppositional forces may be reconciled.

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