Audit

2015

a final statement of account

This is an collection of bindis worn each day of the year from January 1 - December 31, 2015. Installed in the artist's apartment bathroom, each tile indicates one month.

This piece took place over the course of one year, with a daily ritual of placing a bindi on the wall. Bindis lost during the course of a day leave for unaccounted or invisible time. This collection is documentation, performance, and material for a new project.

On December 31, 2015, the artist invited 6 artists and friends to view the final installation. On January 1, 2016, the installation was removed. 

A bindi is a small mark worn on the center of the forehead in Indian culture. It is attached to the forehead with an adhesive backing or applied as a dot with a liquid ink. Traditionally bindis that are in the form of a red dot signify a married women.

A bindi is also called a tikka within ceremonial contexts - usually a mark made with turmeric or kumm-kumm (red powder) by a priest on to a worshipper. In domestic spaces, tikkas are also applied amongst family members during holidays and celebratory occasions.

From a religious standpoint, the bindi symbolizes the third eye of Lord Shiva, known as the destroyer amongst the Hindu trinity of Lord Brahma (creator), Lord Vishnu (operator), and Lord Shiva. It is believed that Shiva's third eye opens when the world needs to reset or correct a wrong. Though the word "destroyer" implies annihilation, in this context, the third eye serves as a cleansing or healing action.

In spiritual terms, the bindi signifies the acknowledgement and honoring of our own conscience, our uniquely complex ability to perceive, act in, and respond to the world around us, physically, emotionally, and empathetically.

Total number of bindis saved: 287
Bindis worn 2 times: 52
Total days accounted for: 339
Bindis and days lost: 26

Monthly count
January: 28
February: 25
March: 22
April: 27
May: 21
June: 21
July: 25
August: 24
September: 25
October: 25
November: 24
December: 23

Photographs by Beatriz Meseguer