MY ARC OF 'BECOMING'
The period from 2014 marked a deeply evolved stage of experimentation in my mosaic practice, shaped by a gradual process of ‘becoming’ rather than a single moment of change. Before this, I concentrated on imbibing the classical rules of Roman mosaics and made ancient Roman mosaic patterns – just as they were made centuries ago. This helped me imbibe the ancient rules of mosaic making, rules I apply even today.
The period of experimentation began with an intense inward inquiry—clarifying the subjects I wished to work with, and the emotional and contemplative states I hoped my work might offer: peace, tranquillity, and quiet joy. I wanted to study the mosaic techniques that could portray these deeply-felt emotions. From this determinant inner grounding, my journey turned outward into a phase of sustained visual research, studying the diverse stylistic languages of mosaicists across cultures. The purpose of this extensive engagement was not imitation, but understanding—how different mosaic artists construct rhythm, activate surface, and allow material and emotions to speak.
My arc of ‘becoming’ seriously began with the Translation phase, then morphed into the Synthesis phase. These phases culminated in a fully owned Authorship phase, wherein I consciously design the mosaic’s concept and its emotional intent, determine the subject’s movement and the overall compositional flow, and select the techniques that fully express the source of inspiration.
The Translation Phase
The early works of this phase were grounded in translation rather than replication. They were developed through the transformation of non-mosaic visual sources into mosaic form, articulated through re-conceived colour relationships and altered spatial atmospheres. This extended period became a laboratory of learning—refining my control over cut, placement, texture, and material interaction, while integrating formal instruction with lived studio experience. I was also learning about the importance of contouring and introducing flows in my mosaics.
Works emerging from this stage include The Tree of Light, The Tree of Stillness, Origins of Infinity, Where Silence Blooms, The Pulse of Aspiration, The Currents of Renewal, The Mountain of Energy (Mount Kailash), Sacred Duality, The Sacred Wheel of the Sutras, and Padma Mandala. Each work functioned as a site of inquiry—testing how mosaic could carry not only image, but sensation and stillness.
The Synthesis Phase
As confidence grew, the process shifted. I began combining my own internally generated imagery with fragments of existing visual references drawn from non-mosaic art. In this transitional phase, works such as When Galaxies Embrace, Spirit Tracks, As the Soul Begins to Sing, Wings Across the Himalayas, Before I Knew the Turning, and Surya Mandala emerged. These pieces marked a decisive movement away from translation toward synthesis—where reference served only as a point of departure.
This Synthesis Phase naturally opened into a more self-directed and exploratory one. With a clearer sense of my own visual instincts, I began consciously shaping a personal mosaic language—testing how rhythm, structure, and spatial movement could arise from within my own way of seeing. At times, existing artworks served only as catalysts, helping me refine or extend my own ideas. The emphasis, however, was no longer on reference, but on articulation: discovering how my inner vocabulary of form, pattern, and stillness could take coherent shape through mosaic. This journey has culminated into my Authorial phase.
The Authorial Phase
The Authorial phase marks my shift into fully independent creations. I began working from a visual language developed from within, shaping structure, rhythm, flows and pattern as original ideas rather than responses to outside forms. My compositions now grew through intuition and hands-on exploration of materials, allowing mosaic to become a space for invention instead of reference. In this phase, pattern became my natural language, and material my primary way of thinking and expressing.
Works such as The Embrace of Shiva Shakti, Waves from the Sanctum Sanctorum, and The Hidden Weave mark this period of personal creativity. At this stage, my practice is firmly grounded in independent visual and contemplative inquiry.
Emergence of a Personal Visual Language
Through this progressive journey of inquiry, transformation, and self-directed exploration, my distinct visual language has gradually emerged. The exploratory phases were not about fixing a style, but about allowing my own artistic self to unfold slowly and distinctly —capable of holding both the subjects I want to explore and the inner sensibility from which they arise. Coupled with a refinement of technique, this period taught me to recognise and trust my own visual instincts, to experience pattern as intuition, and to work from a place that is authentically my own. It continues to guide my practice toward a deeper, more independent, and inwardly grounded creativity.