Covering Shiva—in concrete

Nataraja represents the Hindu god Shiva in his form as the cosmic dancer, combines his roles as the universe’s creator, preserver, and destroyer, and conveys the never-ending cycle of time. Free-standing sculptural representations in bronze were produced as mobile embodiments of the dancing deity to be carried outside temples during certain festivals while adorned with jewelry, silk, and flowers. This use of processional objects began in the Tamil region of southern India during the seventh century, when Shiva Nataraja icons were likely sculpted from wood. Under the reign of Chola rulers (ninth to thirteenth centuries), artisans crafted them from durable bronze through a lost-wax metal casting technique, following guidelines from key religious and artistic texts still practiced today. Often displayed in museums with south Asia collections, the Chola-period Nataraja has become an iconic symbol of Hinduism and Indian culture in the West. This paper explores how one artist creatively repurposed the Shiva Nataraja image by using concrete. I analyze how contemporary art engages in a dialogue with traditional Indic religiosity. In so doing, I focus on how shifting materials in the depiction of a Hindu deity along with shifting contexts may or may not alter the meaning of Shiva Nataraja.