Posted at: Mar 18, 2018, 12:52 AM; last updated: Mar 18, 2018, 12:52 AM (IST)
And the form shapes up…
From practical installations to creative sculptures, from how popular are sculptures as a medium to what holds them back; in conversation with artists at National Sculpture Workshop being held in the city
Basudeb Biswas, Ajay Pandey, Smrutikanta Rout, Gurpreet Jolly, Charanjit Jaito
Manpriya Singh
Only a creative perspective will highlight the queer relationship that a nail and a wooden plank share. With nail being the unsung hero that holds everything together, while wood takes over. “Nail has its own existence. I wasn’t very comfortable with how a nail is often relegated into oblivion in so many structures,” sculptor Basudeb Biswas from Jalandhar Punjab has his own viewpoint and rightly so. “So, I came up with a series of sculptures that celebrated the existence of the nail. In them, it got the same prominence as wood,” he shares, one of the seven participating artists at Punjab Lalit Kala Akademi’s National Sculpture Workshop.
From bamboo to brass
What is he set to do, the following day, at the workshop is a very spontaneous process. “We look at the materials, wood, brass and iron whatever is available and then start with something. Art is a very dynamic ongoing and learning process,” he adds. It’s something likewise for Bhubaneshwar-based Smrutikanta Rout, who is in Chandigarh for the first time ever for a workshop. “I first have to see the local materials and where are they sourced from in order to think of what I’ll create,” he shares, being largely known for bamboo installations and sculptures back home. “We have all heard of wood, iron, brass sculptures but bamboo is a very widely available local material in Odisha, so I largely work on bamboo sculptures. Why not make art out of something indigenous?” shares the artist, one of whose 18 feet installation, finds a place in Forest Park in Bhubaneshwar. “A bamboo sculpture will last a lifetime if kept indoors, but if kept outdoors, it will last 2 years. But it can be made really beautiful with lights inside the bamboo structure.”
Commerce vs art
It’s quite usual to come across self-taught painters and sketchers, but not sculptors. For Charanjit Jaito from Jaito, Punjab, lack of artistic culture in the region was precisely the reason for him taking up art. His creation at the workshop will have something to do with the theme of energy. “I otherwise use mixed media, burnt wood, leather ,” shares the freelance artist, who has been making sculptures for over 18 years now and feels that Punjab is yet to grow as a market for sculptures. “Most of my buyers are from down South or Delhi. That’s where I go for exposure and to learn about different techniques.” Chandigarh-based Gurpreet Jolly did her Master’s in Sculpture from BHU in ‘97. Her initial themes were inspired from children’s story books. “I only make creative sculptures and not commercial,” she shares, who is working on the theme Go Green. “There is a lot of market out there for sculptures. Fortunately it’s not difficult to survive as an artiste nowadays.” The other participants are Ajay Pandey from Patna, Bihar, Nityanada Ojha and Neeraj Ahirwar from Bhubaneshwar Odisha. On till March 22 at Punjab Kala Bhawan—16, Chandigarh