Rakesh's work began as a means of establishing a relationship with oneself and the holy. Coming from a farming family, as a boy, he was always drawn to the idea of working with his hands and natural materials. At the same time, while he saw the craft communities in his area, he was intrigued about how craftsmen worked with materials.
Rakesh uses discarded wooden objects from flea markets to create art. This idea of material exploration and upcycling finds its roots in the craft traditions of India, where found objects – especially those that remained in the production process either of textile, or home construction, or furniture – are transformed into a uniquely new avatar. This act of creating objects of daily use from the discard or excess is what fascinates and drives his practice. He collects the excess wooden blocks from artisans, assembles and creates a courtyard/altar, this courtyard/altar is a reflection of self and the culture that he belongs to... be it the temple architecture, or the vibrant colours the texture, even the fragrance has a major impact on his work as he tries to incorporate them in his work.
He collaborates with a small community of woodworkers as a part of his creative process. While working with them, he has observed the ways in which they worship the divine through the act of making. In a way he feels, this act of making and seeing forms an important part of their collaboration, forming the premise of being one with the divine. Every part of his creative process is driven by extensive research into the philosophy of his practice. This is reflected in his drive to understand the mathematics and metaphysics of temple structures, material understanding and depth of research of wood, and woodworking traditions.
A close inspection of his work reveals peculiarly organised forms and colour. Forms that are conceptual and physical deconstructions of built structures. Colour on the other hand hammers these deconstructions into the viewer’s soul. The ‘work’ is literally a reimagination and construction of a divine space where the outward relief protrusions become ways to formulate individual, independent spiritual connections. These connections are beyond the religiosity or dogmatic frameworks of organised faith.
The works reminds one of a quote by Wassily Kandinsky from his book ‘Concerning the Spiritual in Art’,
“The spiritual life, to which art belongs and of which she is one of the mightiest elements, is a complicated but definite and easily definable movement forwards and upwards. This movement is the movement of experience. It may take different forms, but it holds at bottom to the same inner thought and purpose.”