Shiva/Shakti Hindu God Sculpture
Detail of a cobra wrapping around Shiva's leg.
The incarnation of God as half masculine and half feminine is traditionally called Ardhanarishwara and represents the balance of forces that make up existence. Shiva is the embodiment of unmanifested conciousness that brings everything into existence and takes everything away. Shakti is the manifestation and actual form of that consciousness. She is the sacred energy that is life itself. As fire and heat are inseparable, so are Shiva and Shakti one. He is spirit and she is matter. He is the moon and she is the sun.
This wall hanging piece was made from cutting and welding sheet metal steel using a plasma cutter and MIG welder. The metal was then coated with copper and treated with a patina, creating the green and reddish brown coloring. For Shakti’s lotus and crown, the metal was ground with an angle grinder and then colored with a translucent solvent dye, allowing the steel to shin through.