My artistic approach found inspiration in Frank Zappa’s Project/Object concept for his work in various mediums. Each project (in whatever realm) is part of a larger object, that I call mystic cyclical synthetism.
MY MANIFEST
Most of my work rests upon an attempt to offer a unifying metaphysical frame for the fragmentized human knowledge, a vision I’ve outlined in my book The All is an Egg. The concept of this essay is founded upon the idea of how the cyclical nature of a multitude of phenomena mirrors circulatory biological patterns. Connecting art, science, and religion, with the metaphor of the egg foisted onto it, is a transformative work, and a profound invitation to reflect.
MY MUSIC
Shortly after the publication of my manifest I composed a symphonic rock album called A Cosmology of Civilization. The theme of this opera revolves around a comparison between the cyclic nature of human civilization and that of our solar system. The music is derived from a sonorization of the electromagnetic waves emitted by the main celestial bodies that form our solar system, where each planet got assigned with a particular phase of a civilization. These chaotic sounds where then processed through a synclavier1 in order to produce some melodies that make sense to the human ear. In these compositions, every sound has a value, and every action is part of the universal diapason, a colossal vibration that makes energy rather than reflecting it.
MY PAINTING
My visual works rest between figuration and abstraction, coherence and disintegration, and organic and technological forms. I like to combine dream-like imagery with techno-biomorphic forms to create surreal, liminal landscapes, trying to explore the affinity between the scientific and the artistic praxis. They very often contain autobiographical elements that illustrate my becoming as an artist.
MY NOVEL
The title of my novel The Maharajagar is a self-coined portmanteau through combining parts of the Hindu words; mahaan (great), hare (green) and ajagar (dragon). The main purpose of this novel is to entertain the reader with a historical fantasy: a spellbinding epic tale of ambition, anarchy and absolute power, set against the canvas of North America, Europe and Asia during World War 1 and the ensuing great depression.
This novel uses metaphors, symbols, ambiguities, and overtones which gradually link themselves together to form a network of connections binding the whole work. This system of connections gives the novel a wide, more universal significance as the tale becomes a modern microcosm presented from a fictive metaphysical perspective. This system can be described as the “mythic method”: a way of controlling, of ordering, of giving a shape and give significance to the immense panorama of futility and anarchy which is contemporary history.
As such, this derivate of the Mahabharata contains several textual, biographical, temporal, and topographical discrepancies during its adaption to a contemporary novel, as do the names and some facts derived from the lives of real people in a variety of often unexpected ways to recreate the life-stories of its protagonists. This tale is conceived as a series of five books, the fourth part “Virata” expected to be ready for publication by the end of this year.
Although this is a work of fiction, there are nevertheless three meta-themes interwoven with the tale of the Maharajagar;
- The All is a projection of informational modulated energy waves by a cosmically horizon on the time-space continuum.
- Synchronicity is a phenomenon that comes to us with a message.
- The Long Now is the only time concept to give a lasting meaning to our thinking and, hopefully consequent, actions.
These principles offer a perspective from where a powerful code of conduct can emanate, transforming our lives to a new experience of freedom, happiness, and love.
Shaharee Vyaas 