For the majority of humankind the quotidian experience of reality in the past and in the present are different from those who dominate and manipulate world views in an oppressive manner, but the paradigm for a future could be Different. As an artist I believe my path of life in all humility, is to contribute to the advancement of society and humankind. Our future in the 21st century urgently needs not only a greater balance between technology and human spirit, as Kazuo Inamori envisioned, but also a much-needed re-balance within the human spirit. For the last the cognisance of the feminine side, can manifest a new philosophical paradigm of thought that is urgently needed. I use the metaphor of the mythical figure of Cassandra who could foresee true prophecies but was never believed. This female side of the human psyche can open our eyes, and if therein the prognosis of the future is not suppressed, one can make sense of this life and steer it into a different, more humane direction, with the formulation of new civilisational values.

Nalini Malani is introduced by Professor Mallica Kumbera Landrusi, Keeper of Eastern Art and Curator of Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford. The lecture is followed by a Q&A.