Ketut Lunas summons Kurma

The names Leonardo, Michelangelo and Raphael have a very different meaning to an artist than they do to the very young. Interesting though the names may be, it is the Turtle mutation that Ketut Lunas has turned our gaze to:

In some ancient cultures, Cheyenne and Maheo to name but two, the Turtle is a metaphor for that which holds the world in balance in the cosmos. To others, the Turtle represents the way to immortality, the shell being merely a temporary home for the physical self on the soul's arduous journey to Nirvana. To the Nigerians, Turtles represent the wisdom of the ancient ones, highly respected for their strength, endurance, stability and individuality; to whom lesser beings turn to seek protection. To other's the Turtle represents order and creativity. To the Mayans the Turtle spawned a path to the stars from it's back.

In Sufism, the hatching and instinctive return to the sea of baby turtles is symbolic of a return to divinity. Taoists venerate the Turtle for it's longevity. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Mesopotamian god Ea planned to create human beings from a formless lump of Bentonite. Foreseeing their disobedience Ea sought to knead a Turtles from the same gobbet to control Sintering humanity.

Before interpreting the sublime, there was a technical challenge to be addressed. To control the balance and stability of a work, most sculptors tend to add smaller allegorical figures at the base of their work. Doing so however, even in the hands of competent sculptor, causes the figure to remain motionless as though suspended in the moment. In the hands of a maladroit, the work will predictably end in a meaningless, shapeless block at the bottom of the work, merely to keep the work from falling over. In either case, the bottom of the sculpture risks drawing attention away from the protagonist. Ketut Lunas has however exceeded this technical limitation by going in a characteristically opposite direction.

With so much cultural expectation weighing on his shoulders Ketut Lunas had much to contemplate before he began to reveal what is to be the base of the sculpture. Without compromising on the technical aspects of balance and stability he has not misinterpreted the allegorical relationship between Baruna and the Turtle. He has remained true to its religious meaning. By placing Baruna on a Turtle, he has suggested that the work is not suspended in, nor is it bound or defined by, the moment. Baruna is free to move about the cosmos, just as the divine have earned their right to do so.

Go forth therefore Kurma, Vishnu has summoned thee.