Indo-Caribbean Divali Publication Ltd (IDP) is proud to announce the publication of its latest Divali souvenir magazine. Divali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, was observed as a national holiday on October 23, 2014.
The theme of this year’s edition of the magazine is Visual Arts on Indian cultural heritage. The body of work featured in this magazine presents various visual interpretations of Hindu and (East) Indian cultural heritage in Trinidad and Tobago. With a total of 26 contributing artists, this compilation showcases a mix of established and aspiring visual practitioners whose works demonstrate competence and maturity in their respective genres.
As a highly visual religion, Hinduism is mainly characterised by brightly coloured and ornamental images of gods, goddesses and deities. These and other images have captured the imagination of artists and other cultural workers. The artistic exploration of Hindu and Indian images by artists take several forms and media which include drawings, mosaics, installations, rangoli, mehndi, mixed-media, conventional and digital paintings, and three-dimensional designs.
This magazine is a compilation of artistic works by mainly Indian artists working on Indian cultural themes. The truth is that not many Indians in Trinidad and Tobago are practitioners of the visual arts. It is important that this under-representation be addressed. The presence of non-Indian artists working on this theme suggests that they have been exposed to a certain degree, and have been influenced, by Hindu and Indian culture.
