John Gilbert Art: Contact

“I make art with everyday objects deeply ingrained in those cultures experienced as I travel. Bhakti (devotion) Art is created in India utilizing body stickers, tattoos and bindi. The body tattoos are a street smart alternative to the hand drawing of henna on the arms of Indian brides. Bindi, which mark the third eye, can be worn for adornment for marriage, to show a woman is married, and by both sexes, for fashion. I use these materials in paintings and sculptures in a repetitive process, which is a meditation, a dialogue, and a commentary on Indian culture. In the creation of Bhakti Art, it is as if India and I discover each other, over and over, each time a new experience.”

—John Gilbert 2012 Mysore, India