GUNJAN GUPTA

Vernacular Wonderland

Craft in India has been deeply entwined into the lives of people for centuries in the form of exquisitely handcrafted objects created for daily rituals, adornment and entertainment. In the wake of India’s rapid modernization, many of these age-old traditions find themselves at the periphery of daily life nearly on the verge of obsolescence. Considered pejorative in the local context, craft is exoticised Internationally by enterprises whose offerings range from reproductions of traditional designs to the cheap and cheerful handicraft that India has become synonymous with. Craft collaborations with artists and designers leave the audience in astonishment at the dexterity of the creation however the credit is given to the mind of the artist and not the hand of the artisan. Recent visits to ateliers and dialogues with craftsman reveal a desire to break from tradition and a call for artistic freedom amongst them. In order for Indian Master Crafts to survive, these concerns resonate with the global debate around the blurring of much contested boundaries between art and craft. India’s debut at the Revelations Fine Craft Biennale has significance as it presents a new vangaurd of Indian craftsman who are moving ahead with new ideas; some of which are recognised national masters and others who are carrying forward the tradition of their forefathers towards contemporary manifestations of their traditional skills. The striking similarity in their approcaches and quest for inventiveness is captured into a thematic presentation of objects that create a vernacular wonderland of iconic Indian shapes and indigenous materials that have been bent out of their conventional form, context and size. It is evident through these new avatars that although the artists have a committed engagement to traditional knowledge, they are very much influenced by contemporary ideas that are reflective of the zeitgeist. These objects are not as much an intellectual and systematic process but one of intuition dictated by an extraordinary visual perception of what they see around them.

The titles of the artworks shankh (conch shell), matka (earthen water pot), shunya (zero) kangan’ (bracelet) capture the vernacular into sculptural expressions that are intrinsic to life in India since ancient times. The kangan is an iconic Indian bracelet part of traditional Indian jewelry that has been scaled up from the wrist into a larger version of itself by National Awardee Prithviraj Singh Deo from Orissa who has reimagined it as a jewel for the home. The conch shell is an auspicious symbol in Hinduism known as the shankha, its sound is associated with the sacred syllable Om which is believed to be the first sound of creation. Mohan Lal Murtiwala is a stone carver whose family has been carving religious idols for generations in Rajasthan. He has isolated the conch shell out of its broader religious context and intricately carved scaled up versions in black and white marble that give these sculptures wider appeal. It is evident that these artworks need to be viewed in the context of the maker’s cultural history in the likeness of art wherein the life of the artist, their education, process and the socio political climate of where they come from influence a deeper respect and value for the work.

Indian fine craft has been mostly defined by its miniature traditions for centuries as seen in its painting, textile and jewelry traditions. The majestic setting of the Grand Palais acts as a catalyst in looking beyond the known and sets the tone for a fortuitous convergence of sculptural objects that create a consonance around the concept of scale. These objects represent a new vision of Indian craft that seek revival through relevance by transcending ideals of nostalgia and novelty for universal wisdom, beauty and intelligence. In embracing the unknown, we celebrate the creator as the creative force behind the creation.