Hinduism is the third largest religion following Christianity and Islam. It evolved from the earliest pre- history. Throughout the entrance, different gods statues were displayed such as the serpent gods.
In Hinduism, worshippers acknowledge three main deities. They are Brahma, the creator of the universe, Vishnu, the preserver of the universe and Shiva, the destroyer of the universe.
Upon entering, both of us felt that not much recognition was given to the three gods, although the fact is that they are the main three gods in the religion. They were kept in an area which was quite gloomy and dark and the same environment was given to every other exhibit there. They were not emphasized upon, thus visitors to the museum who are oblivious about the culture might not recognize these three gods as the core of the religion. They will only grow to find out when they watch the short video on the small screen allocated at the exhibit. Also, not much information was given about the deities on display or the religion for the matter, even though it is claimed that Hinduism is the third largest religion in the world. They were not well introduced and only the appearances created the difference. So, we expected more of theoretical knowledge behind all these wonderful sculptures to be placed beside them. Doubts were clarified sometimes by watching the short video but since most of the visitors did not have many chances to explore to other ancient places, we believed many will want more details on the religion by coming to this particular exhibition. However, the museum did great effort in compiling many sculptures and art pieces from different countries. Different styles of creating the sculptures were visible and the difference in the years (era) this did reflect on the various cultures in Hinduism.
The cultures are regarded as very traditional. Yet, what is questioned now is the practice of the religion in today’s era. Hindus around the world worship Vishnu the most among the three gods. He is the preserver of life and order and whenever the principles of order and righteousness are threatened, the entire religion becomes endangered and he transcends to assume an earthly form. Similarly for Shiva and Brahma, people worship them for different reasons. For Brahma, people worship him because he is the first of the Hindu trinity and he is the Creator of the Universe. As for Shiva, Hindus keep a fast for him for one day called the “Maha Shivrathri”. This day is set aside to worship him because he had saved the world by drinking poison. People carry out various rituals at temples to worship these gods because they are seen as a symbol of respect and life. However, a totally different meaning is given to these sculptures when they are placed in a museum. In that case, they are seen as mere exhibits and even when Hindus go these exhibitions, they do not worship the deities on display there.
Of course these exhibits, like the Nataraja have a meaning behind them like for instance this particular sculpture is the lord of dance and it is associated with the “destruction of ignorance”, but many other aspects of this figure is left out, like for example, what is the real meaning of this form of his and who he is really. A completely different ambience is given out when one steps into a museum showcasing these deities compared to if one steps into a temple. Even though similar statues are found in the museum and in the temple, the environment is completely different. In the temple, a visitor feel more of the rich culture, more of the religion and faith than when in the museum when the visitor merely just see it as a stone statue.
Of course these exhibits, like the Nataraja have a meaning behind them like for instance this particular sculpture is the lord of dance and it is associated with the “destruction of ignorance”, but many other aspects of this figure is left out, like for example, what is the real meaning of this form of his and who he is really. A completely different ambience is given out when one steps into a museum showcasing these deities compared to if one steps into a temple. Even though similar statues are found in the museum and in the temple, the environment is completely different. In the temple, a visitor feel more of the rich culture, more of the religion and faith than when in the museum when the visitor merely just see it as a stone statue.
Thus we proposed the idea of re- creating the entrance so the ambience can be felt. For example it is suitable for any ancient architecture's opening to be the entrance for the deities' sculptures. We saw a gateway to another part of India's civilization gallery and it was awesome to see beautiful and big opening. The lights were well adjusted and we could eventually step in and observed the fine details and carvings.
In addition, we thought that it will be better to display the gods statues in three different small compartments. This is because some of the gods statues' appearance have similarities and sometimes it causes slight confusion. Furthermore, we wanted to show the representational meaning and more details about them. As an example, the significance of the Shiva or also Nataraja sculpture is said to be that Shiva is shown of all the movement within the cosmos (the orderly universe) represented by the arch of flames. So by displaying the different 'lord of dancing' statues within the area will create more attraction.
the different statues of dancing ShivaHence, the meanings are communicated through various ways. The sculptures and the details of them act as representational meaning and reflect to the own culture.
