The Open Studio / Nishkala Polamarasetty
Nishkala Polamarasetty
Greed for power
His crown blazes gold while his red robe rots away
Gold spikes fan out behind his head like a sun that has stopped giving warmth.
The face is grey stone. A small red mark sits on the brow.
His hands rest on the throne but do not let go.
The red cloth is eaten with dark holes, wider near his feet.
Around him the blue and green night keeps moving.
He does not see it. He only sees the chair.
The work
Greed for power is a 2025 work by Nishkala Polamarasetty of Andhra University in Visakhapatnam. It is made in oil pastels and measures 71 × 56 cm. A crowned king sits on a gold throne. Gold spikes rise behind his head like rays. His red robe is full of dark holes, as if something eats it from inside. Much of Polamarasetty's work looks at lessons from old Hindu writings such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. The aim is not belief. It is the lesson inside the story.
In the artist’s words
“In this series I wanted people to know what good we can learn from old Hindu writings like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. I wanted to show how we can use their message in our everyday life. It is not about believing in Hinduism or not. It is about the lessons the stories are trying to convey.”
- Theme
- Power and decay
- Material
- Oil pastels
- Size
- 71 × 56 cm
- Year
- 2025
- Edition
- 5 out of 6
- Framed
- No
- About the artist
- Andhra University
- From
- Vishakapatnam
- Code
- RC-610
