Woman with lotus flower 1998
Synthetic polymer paint, gold leaf on polyester resin fibreglass
212 x 148 x 63cm (overall)
Collection: The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art. Purchased 1999 with funds from the Sidney Myer Centenary Celebration 1899-1999 Gift through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation Queensland Art Gallery Collection

Ravinder Reddy celebrates an unholy alliance between India’s tradition of religious sculpture with the brazen erotica of the street and the fetishes of desire found in pavement vending stalls. Fashioned from fibreglass covered with gold leaf, the larger-than-life-size Woman with lotus flower stands on a floating lotus blossom. The figure also brings to mind a yakshi, a semi-divine female earth spirit possessing boon-granting magical powers. Compounding the carnal with the spiritual, Reddy endows this ample, naked diva with a confronting physical presence. Her large eyes stare forward, facing the future, while her feet remain anchored on the traditional lotus base of classical Buddhist sculpture.