Meditations on a Mandala unfolds as a field of continuous motion. The circular form gathers hundreds of small, gold-plated Buddha figures, each seated within its own recess, forming a rhythmic constellation around a larger central presence. This movement from the many to the one mirrors a larger cosmology, where scale shifts without breaking continuity.
The sculpture draws from the understanding that nothing in the universe stands still. From the turning of cells within the body to the rotation of galaxies and the expansion of meta-universes, motion carries life forward. Gupta translates this vast dynamism into a kinetic field through repetition and circulation. The mantra-like recurrence of the Buddha form generates a visual pulse, allowing the eye to move endlessly between detail and totality.
Copper surfaces hold duration, softened by patina, while gold and mirrored steel invite light into motion. As light shifts, shadows multiply and dissolve, setting the mandala into a quiet spin. At moments, the work radiates outward, echoing the force of a supernova; at others, it draws inward, suggesting the gravity of a black hole absorbing everything into its depth. These fluctuations are not staged effects but natural responses to light, position, and time.
The circular structure carries an echo of whirling bodies in meditative states, recalling the turning of dervishes where stillness is found through movement. Here, motion does not lead away from the centre; it continually returns to it. The work holds space for sustained contemplation, where attention moves, settles, and moves again - offering a rhythm to meditate upon rather than a conclusion to arrive at.