A Hindu deity is the starting point of this mind-expanding new exhibition

Avatar: Forms of Vishnu at the Art Gallery of New South Wales recasts ancient Hindu stories Why would Sydney's biggest art gallery design a show about Vishnu, the blue-skinned Hindu god of order and cosmic balance? In the words of the show's co-curator: to shake us out of our complacency. "What keeps drawing me back to the subject of Vishnu is a sense of awe and wonder that transports you beyond your limitations," curator and art historian Chaitanya Sambrani says. "[The stories of Vishnu's avatars] enlarges the possibility of creative participation in life, that you might actually think differently about yourself at the end of this." Bold claims, but a new exhibition called Avatar: Forms of Vishnu at the Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW) is nothing if not ambitious. Dreamed up by AGNSW curator Melanie Eastburn, with the support of Sambrani, the show pulls together 200 artworks spanning centuries and media, including a number of contemporary commissions. What is an avatar? The origins of this show lie in Eastburn's fascination with the multi-layered story of Vishnu, one of the triumvirate of the Hindu godly pantheon. For many centuries, Vishnu has been seen as the protector of "dharma" — the one who maintains balance and order. He is worshipped by millions of Hindus in thousands of dedicated temples around South Asia and the diaspora. Vishnu has had seven "avatars", meaning he has descended to earth in seven forms including a turtle, a man-lion, a fish and a boar. Vishnu's final incarnation, Kalki, is prophesied to arrive when our current civilisation collapses. As Sambrani explains, these avatars offer endlessly fascinating symbolism and narrative to draw people in. "There are so many forms, and each form has a story attached to it," he says. "I grew up with many of these stories, from my grandparents, and they were kind of part of my upbringing. "Even at the psychological level, each one of us builds a persona that is based in narrative. And Vishnu's avatar is an unending series of amazing narratives. "They are capacious, they are inclusive. They are diverse. They refuse singularity. You can't box them into a very specific, sort of narrow-minded understanding of religion." Ancient craft to contemporary creations Most of us think Hinduism is exclusive to India. However, some of the most important works in the exhibition come from Cambodia, which was once home to the largest Hindu temple on Earth (Angkor Wat). In this way, Avatar displays the vast roots of these belief systems around Asia, and Vishnu's stories tie together many communities around Australia. Eastburn was surprised the gallery was able to secure a loan of a statue of Lord Krishna (one of Vishnu's avatars) circa 100-800AD from the National Museum of Cambodia in Phnom Penh. The statue depicts one of the best-known stories about the beloved deity, showing Krishna holding up the mountain Govardhana to protect his people from a mighty storm. "It's such a treasure of pre-Angkorian reverence," Eastburn says. "I had thought, 'Well, I would never ask for that.' "And then when Chaitanya and I were at the museum, the director said, 'Do you want to ask for Krishna?' It was a moment of absolute delight about the incredible generosity." Impressive as they are, the exhibition is not satisfied with rare artefacts, striving to make ancient Hindu stories relevant for today. A wall-sized digital interactive installation that shows all of the avatars is especially popular with children, while conveying the physicality of Hindu figures. South Asian curation front and centre Pushing the boundaries of mainstream Hindu understandings seems core to the exhibition's mission. "We've seen this in world politics over the last few decades: people are gravitating towards these reductive versions of their religious identities," Sambrani says. This level of nuance is rare in Australian institutions, which have often been satisfied by seeing Hinduism for its rare artefacts and little else. For the many South Asian visitors who were attending at the same time as me, however, it would have felt special. Our traditions felt visible, even with something as simple as the statue of Ganesha placed at the entrance to the museum building. "We're not trying to re-create a temple experience or anything," Eastburn says. "But we also want to have a level of respect and care and wonder for people for whom Vishnu is really essential to who they are. "Usually our view is that we don't touch objects, but of course, if it's important to a visitor to have a physical interaction, because it's important to who they are, we would never stop them." Whether you've grown up with the stories of Rama and Krishna — two of Vishnu's best-known avatars — or you've never encountered these words before in your life, there's something awe-inspiring in Avatar for everyone. Avatar: Forms of Vishnu is at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, until October 5.