Lot 270: RAVINDER REDDY (b. 1956)

RAVINDER REDDY (b. 1956)
Untitled
polyester, resin and fibreglass
34¼ x 34¼ x 22 in. (81.9 x 55.9 x 88.3 cm.)

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.
Born in Suryapet, in the Andhra Pradesh region of India, artist Ravinder Reddy references ancient Indian sculptural traditions in his massive polyester-resin heads. Contemporising images of traditional Indian goddesses, Reddy plays on the American concept of "super-sizing" inflating these distinctly South Asian busts to gargantuan proportions. The artist cleverly imbues his sculptures with a sense of serenity and the brash faces remain docile and oddly domestic. The brightly coloured and gilded sculptures are reminiscent of Pop Art, drawing attention away from their Hindu origins to focus on surface and decoration. Reddy's works address issues of femininity and beauty, suggesting both the pressure to look beautiful, maintain a reverence and adherence to tradition. Through such transformations and re-appropriations of ancient Indian temple sculpture, the artist is possibly commenting on how India's religious and cultural histories are being diluted and Westernised by the surge of progression.