The sacred and unwordly atmosphere achieved shatters local and individual particularity and reassembles the subjects as symbols, enigmatic, potent and unsettling. The atmosphere of inner spiritual vitality emanates from the hieratic stillness of the figures, it springs from the subjects’ huge eyes and it gathers in the darkened centre of their foreheads, the site of the Shiva’s third eye, the mystical core of intuitive vision.
There is a contemplative stillness and tranquillity about the paintings which at first belies the complex interplay of emotions and relationships between the figures. They hold our attention with a solemn grandeur, whether in a room or outside, their surroundings are free from distracting detail. The simplicity of their settings suggests that they could be anywhere – in many places all at once, both real and imagined. They have therefore a timeless quality which gives them universal appeal.