The 25 works from the Unspoken-1 series were exhibited at Galerie Reverso in Lisbon, Portugal, as a duo/solo exhibition titled Beyond Borders. Terhi Tolvanen participated as another artist in the exhibition. 

“A river brings them all, and no one sees them”.

In this project, I made a series of rings with a stone called Kasauti. (A Hindi word for Touchstone, a black stone, used by Goldsmiths/Jewelers to test the purity of gold). Sculpting the rings by using a monolithic technique and drawing onto the rings with gold by rubbing and scratching. 

The act of rubbing & scratching requires a lot of pressure, consistency, and control, and it is silent. I am very keen to explore, how and why to express the hidden storm behind the silence. As Mirza Ghalib also said in one of his poems:

be-ḳhudī be-sabab nahīñ 'ġhālib'
kuchh to hai jis kī parda-dārī hai

­-Mirza Ghalib

“Your stupor's not of cause devoid
there's something that wants to hide”

When I was getting trained as a goldsmith, I have very clear memories of speaking out my philosophical/psychological/poetic aspect to this stone by rubbing gold rods. Though, to the co-workers, it gave an impression of practicing/working. 

The project looks to rework the same narrative by letting visitors engage in the same act. 

During the phase of the exhibition, the touchstone, ruined material, and a piece/object of gold will be placed in the gallery. Visitors are invited to take part to experience the process/technique of rubbing. Through this, they can express their own philosophical, psychological, or poetic aspect in their own unspoken words as they please. 

As an ode to his favorite poet Mirza Ghalib, all the titles of the works are taken from his poems/ghazals. QR codes/links/mediums to listen to these poems will be available in the gallery. 

Elements e.g., staircase, house, chairs, geometrical/abstract forms, and the jewelry itself in the series also show the various interests of Yaksh. 

The ring titled Vafā is one of the first forms he learned to draw from his teachers Jasmina and Valentina from Le arti orafe (a contemporary jewelry design school in Florence, Italy).

Playlist of Mirza Ghalib

Apple Music
Click here to listen on Apple Music

Spotify
Click here to listen on Spotify

Gratitude

I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the following collaborators whose unwavering support made it all possible: 

Paula Crespo
Barbora Lexová
Terhi Tolvanen
Eleonora Varotto
Maryna Kapustina
K.K. Murugan
Jaikumar Balasubramaniam
P. Ravichandran
A. Siddarthan
P. Ayappan
M. Jayaprekesh
Munsa
All team of Golden Rock Granite P Ltd
All team of Galeria Reverso

Thank you for being an essential part of this project!