The Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney is hosting a landmark exhibition titled Avatar: Forms of Vishnu, running from 20 June to 5 October. The exhibition showcases hundreds of ancient and modern interpretations of the Hindu god Vishnu, spanning 15 centuries of South and Southeast Asian art.
Exhibition Highlights
Curated by Melanie Eastburn and Dr Chaitanya Sambrani, with Emma Joyce, the exhibition features works from the 8th to the 21st century. Highlights include a 12th-century bronze of Vishnu in the lotus, a 19th-century Ramayana manuscript from Bali, and a sandstone lintel from Cambodia depicting Vishnu reclining on the serpent Ananta Shesha.
Key Artworks
- Vishnu in the Lotus (Bronze, East India or Nepal, 1100s): A bronze sculpture showing Vishnu surrounded by petals of his avatars, holding a lotus, conch shell, citron, and an unidentified object.
- Scene from a Ramayana Kakawin Manuscript (Indonesia, early 1800s): An ink drawing depicting Rama winning Sita's hand, encounters with demons, and alliances with monkey armies.
- Lintel Depicting Vishnu Reclining on Ananta Shesha (Cambodia, c. 100-800): A sandstone sculpture showing Brahma seated on a lotus from Vishnu's navel, with celestial beings in flight.
- Krishna Govardhana (Sandstone, Cambodia, c. 100-800): Carved from a single block, this sculpture shows Krishna lifting Mount Govardhana to shelter villagers from a storm.
- Narasimha (Bronze, India, c. 1529-1736): A bronze of the man-lion avatar holding a conch and discus, with a tiny Lakshmi figure on his chest.
- Sita (Bronze, India, 1400s): A lost-wax casting of Sita, the heroine of the Ramayana, with her hand in a gesture associated with holding a flower.
- Krishna Defeats the Demon Bana (Watercolour and gold on paper, India/Pakistan, late 1700s): A painting from the Harivamsa showing blue-skinned Krishna in a dynamic pose on a chaotic battlefield.
- Vishnu as the Man-Lion Narasimha Killing Hiranyakashipu (Watercolour and gold on paper, India, c. 1690-1700): Depicts Narasimha killing the demon at twilight, on a threshold, using no weapons.
- Vishnu as Matsya the Fish (Watercolour with silver paint, India, 1880-99): A Kalighat painting showing the fish avatar of Vishnu.
- Rama Chasing the Golden Deer Maricha (Watercolour on paper, India, mid 1700s): A folio evoking the supernatural illusion of the golden deer that leads to Sita's abduction.
- Sita Offering Fruits to Rama in the Dandaka Forest (Watercolour on paper, India, late 1700s): A quiet moment of Rama and Sita surrounded by flowering trees.
- Vishnu-Garud Wahan (Oleograph with fabric and embroidery, India, c. 1894-1930): A print by Raja Ravi Varma showing Vishnu with Lakshmi and Bhu Devi on Garuda, hand-embellished with cloth and sequins.
- Navagunjara (Natural pigments on tussar silk, India, 2025) by Gitanjali Das: A pattachitra painting showing a nine-animal manifestation of Vishnu.
- Samudra Manthana, Churning of the Ocean of Milk (Natural pigments and gold on birch board, England/India/Australia, 2026) by Desmond Lazaro: A painting reinterpreting the legend where Vishnu takes several forms, including Kurma the tortoise.
The exhibition offers a comprehensive view of Vishnu's many forms, from the man-lion Narasimha to blue-skinned Krishna, and includes works from India, Nepal, Cambodia, Indonesia, and beyond.
