Aikyam: Oneness
At the very core of Vinod’s articulations lies his reverence for the sacredness of nature, and a homage to the eternal union of male and female energies. The cycles of birth and death, the evolution of life, the primordial contemplation of the microcosm and macrocosm, and the powerful balance of the universe itself arise from this notion of union. In the Indian context, Samkhya, one of the six accepted systems of philosophy, elaborates the interrelationship between the principle of matter or substance, nature - Prakriti, and the conscious energy or spirit, the male aspect Purusha. Purusha and Prakriti are considered the two basic, opposite and independent principles of creation that cause and sustain existence. According to Samkhya the world comes about as a result of the union between Purusha and Prakriti. It is the coming together of matter and consciousness that generates life; that breathes continuity.
Vinod Daroz employs motifs like the egg, the butterfly and pupa, flowers and buds, shells, seeds and the most powerful symbol of oneness – the linga and yoni, or the sacred representation of male and female regenerative organs, as the very basis of his creations. The forms appear in abstracted and stylised ways, reiterating the underlying notions of union. Within his work is contained a deep integration of creative processes and philosophical underpinnings; it becomes a space for expressing his own connection with the physical world and a spiritual one. The objects that grow out of the gestures of his hands, enfold within them aspects of his past and present; they hold the magic of time and transition that is unique to the kiln processes. The transformation of something soft and malleable as clay, into hard, evocative material rich in colour and texture is in itself a marvel of sorts. Line and form converge; colours awaken each other through juxtaposition; and myriad stories are manifest through the silence of the tactile surfaces.