The chariots of the gods

Processions around the temple of large wooden ceremonial chariots (ratha) are a tradition still alive in South India. The temporary exhibition set up in MUSEC's Spazio Cielo recounts their history and meanings: a festive occasion steeped in sacredness in which the gods come out of the temple and travel through the streets of the town transported on large, richly decorated chariots, veritable mobile architectures that can reach thirty meters in height.

More than fifty works are on display, from both the MUSEC Collections and those of the Rietberg Museum and the Völkerkundemuseum of the University of Zurich. These are sculptures of gods and mythological scenes that illustrate the wonderful and elaborate local artistic languages. Approaching this form of art and celebration allows the human to encounter the divine. There is reflection on life, the genesis of the world, and the struggle between good and evil. These are themes common to humankind, which in the Indian cultural context generate an infinity of mythological narratives, concretely witnessed by art of the highest refinement, within an astonishing exhibition.

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