Earthpulse

With the intention of transforming everyday locations into sites of spiritual practice, artist Ashwini Bhat presents a site-responsive installation that draws on the symbolic languages of mandala, circle, spiral, and yantra within South Asian tantric traditions. These forms become frameworks for exploring spiritual belonging, ritual, and transformation. The mandala operates as a map of the cosmos and a conduit for energy; the circle evokes wholeness, unity, and cyclical time; the spiral suggests growth and the continuous flow of life force; and yantras function as sacred geometries for spiritual empowerment

In Earthpulse, Bhat reimagines physical space as sacred terrain where the transformation of both material and consciousness can unfold. Composed as earthworks using unfired clay, each element—conceived as a yantra—is constructed on site. The installation remains intentionally ephemeral, with all the materials reclaimed or repurposed at the exhibition’s close, aligning with ecological cycles and sustainable practice. Grounded in the belief that spiritual encounters arise through acts of attention, the works establish a porous boundary between site and body. The installation invites viewers into an embodied awareness of our entangled relationship with the earth.

Installation Images: John Janca

On the right:

Installation view at Ella Sharp Museum, Jackson, Michigan

Ashwini Bhat’s site-specific installation “Being, Longing…” at the Palo Alto Art Center, includes a newly created large-scale glazed ceramic mandala (Collective Earth) created by public participation in a performance (Earth Under Our Feet) during the 2025 community festival Montalvo Funk at Montalvo Arts Center.