Meditating Yogi

An extraordinary example of Wayan Rendah's magnificent sculpting, this piece crafted in the Megulet style signifies a profound technical and spiritual undertaking. The trancelike yogi bows his body and presses his head against open palms, rocking back and forth on folded legs. The muscles and tendons of his arms and legs are stretched tautly as he prays with unrelenting fervor. The piece emits a powerful aura of piety, of religious asceticism, and of self-denial. Yogis are holy men and great mystics, many of whom also possess the gift of prophecy. They are beloved figures in the countryside, and villagers will feed and care for the yogis as they roam from region to region, searching for perfect purity and knowledge through meditation, ecstatic trances and frightening self-mortification. A gripping piece in local suar wood, the sculpture is redolent of Eastern mysticism and stark simplicity used to induce contemplation and reflection.