Sristi - Tapa dura

In Indian worship, Yantra - a pure geometric diagram - is a tool to stimulate inner visualisations, meditations and experiences. One of the predominant elementary diagrams is the triangle, representing the three fold process of creation (Sristi), preservation (Sthithi) and dissolution (Samhara). Shot over a period of seven years by a variety of photographers, this captivating book is an offering to the creative principle of Sristi. It follows the practice of the young, New York-based inspirational force, Sharmila Desai, who has merged many forms of Indian movement beginning with Ashtanga yoga and including elements of the martial art Kalaripayattu and the classical dance, Bharata Natyam. Sristi is edited by Olivier Berggruen, and also contains a foreword by Trudie Styler and Sting, with essays by Karole Armitage, Olivier Berggruen and Jeffrey Deitch. "When I become especially excited about someone who is creating a new type of form, I ask them to present a project at our gallery. I asked Sharmila to develop a project for us without specifying whether or not it should be dance, music or sculpture. It turned out to be a remarkable mixture of all three. Her performance was absorbing and inspiring, an invitation to enter Sharmila's unique spiritual and aesthetic world" - Jeffrey Deitch. 'When she teaches you are in the company of an ancient. When she dances, she transforms herself, the goddess emerges and the watcher is transfixed. A beautiful being on whom God shines his light. She is goodness, she is kindness, she is as noble as she is simple. She moves with grace, she embodies grace. There it is: Sharmila Desai is Grace' -Trudie Styler and Sting.

Sharmila Desai comes from a family of dancers, most notably her great aunt Menaka and her grandmother Hima Devi, who were legendary exponents of dance. Similar to her predecessors in pushing traditional forms of movement and art, Desai has intermingled martial art, yoga and Indian dance to explore ancient ideas in the realm of the contemporary. Notable recent performances include the Venice Biennale, Deitch Projects, ICA London and the opening for the Yves Klein Retrospective at the Schirn Kunsthalle Frankfurt.