Leading contemporary artist Anish Kapoor was born in India in 1954 and, through his Indian and Jewish ancestral lineage and his mainly British art education, has a rich cultural heritage. Kapoor decided at the age of 18 to become an artist and travelled to England where he studied at Hornsey College of Art, London (1973-77) and Chelsea School of Art, London (1977-78).

Kapoor's works are highly engaging, visually and physically, while also rich in philosophical references. They are informed by Jung's psychoanalytical ideas of archetypal forms, and concepts of duality in Hindu and other philosophies. His sculpture often takes the shape of concave or convex symbolic forms and explores the themes of 'origin', and 'place' or 'space', in a metaphysical context. Kapoor has said: 'I seem to be making sculpture about the space beyond, illusory space,'(1) which refers to the sources of creation such as the space within the mind, the space of the womb or the cosmic space. The concept of 'space' is closely linked to the idea of 'pregnant void' which in the Indian tradition (especially that of Buddhism) is expressed by the syllable 'om'.

Since 1979, when Kapoor visited India after completing his academic studies, pigment has become an intrinsic part of his sculpture. His use of colour is highly evocative, although limited to the primaries, red, yellow, blue, and black and white. It has been suggested that each colour has a symbolic value in Kapoor's work - red refers to the body and life; white expresses purity and chastity; while blue has a spiritual meaning, being a sacred colour in both Hindu and Christian beliefs.

In front of works like Void (#13) the viewer, captured by the mesmerising radiance of transcending blue, embarks on a physical and metaphysical exploration of form, space and the self. The work is not simply to be viewed, but to be experienced in a holistic way that involves the body and the mind. The interrelation between the eye and the other senses is very important: 'The need for the hand to reaffirm the uncertainty of the eye, the temptation to touch and the denial of it. There are some works ... in which sound and vision are each as important as the other.'(2)

Kapoor considers the response to his work very important. He says: 'I am interested in making objects that slow time down, that make you sit still and think. It is an intimate, quiet, hopefully tender moment.'(3) As an artist he is concerned with understanding the 'wholeness' of our experience of life: 'I wish to make sculpture about belief, about passion, about experience: that is outside of material concerns.'(4)

1. Kapoor, Anish, quoted in Mehta, Tasneem. 'The importance of being Anish Kapoor', The Art News Magazine of India, August 1996, p.37.

2. Kapoor, Anish, quoted in Bonami, Francesco. 'Anish Kapoor, Jumping into the void', Flash Art, vol. 27, no. 179, November-December 1994, p.81.

3. Kapoor, Anish in 'The importance of being Anish Kapoor', p.39.

4. Kapoor, Anish, quoted in Kemp, John. 'Stones of Venice: Anish Kapoor at the Biennale', Modern Painters, vol. 3, no. 2, Summer 1990, p.46.