Diwali Orange is inspired by traditional South Asian candles, lamps and firework displays which form the central aspect of the Hindu festival of lights. I felt this was strongly representative of South Asian culture in general as Diwali (or Divali or Devali) is not limited to a Hindu religious expression, but is also celebrated by Sikhs, Jains, Christians and the non-religious in India. The orange colour for this piece is a saffron hue which was chosen to express the bright lights of the festival but also, as one of my friends put it, "when you think of India, it's basically orange isn't it?" - I couldnt have put it better!

In researching this piece I came across a wealth of images of Diwali lights and celebrations, so the main part of the process was selecting the right images to use as the base for individual features. I felt candles framed by oil lamps would be most appropriate here, bringing a traditional element that formed the anchor for the rest of the design. Since Diwali is also a midwinter festival ultimately intended to bring about the promise of spring, I have interspersed leaf and branch-like elements into the work, and in the bays towards the outer edge, I have created a humanlike form which suggests the deities honoured in Diwali.

This design explores the roots of celebration and of coming together from many diaprate groups into one. Just as the many individual candles and lamps unite to form one large Diwali light, so Diwali is fast becoming, like Christmas, a global festival which crosses cultural boundaries. It expresses something unviersal in human beings: the desire to bring the light into dark places.