Kavita Kanan Chandra
Whether it is pristine white sculptures in composite marble or contemporary ones made of e-waste, these figures depicting various yoga asanas provide a healing touch to the pandemic-weary souls. Two sculptors from the Pink City of Jaipur, Pawan Kumar Bhatt and Mukesh Kumar Jwala, let their artworks reiterate the power and relevance of yoga in these difficult times. There is an awakening to how the ancient art of yoga connects the mind and body, boosts immunity, ups the energy levels, lowers anxiety and stress and infuses positivity and wellbeing.
At the premises of Bhatt’s Flow Design Studio on Jaipur’s outskirts, the 12 9-foot high statues in composite marble look alluring against the surrounding greenery. Each sculpture, showing an asana from Surya Namaskar, instills peace and calm. Following the sequence of salutation to the sun, viewing them one by one evokes a sense of fluidity and graceful movement. The faceless sculptures allude to the idea of yoga for all. “The idea was to associate it with no religion, person or anything to distract but to just focus on the immense benefits of yoga,” says Bhatt. Seeing the awareness for yoga increasing among people during the pandemic inspired him to make these sculptures.
His choice of material was composite marble (a combination of marble dust, polymer resins, pigments, gel coat, stone particles) as it is economical, easy to transport, durable, water- and weather-resistant, does not yellow over time and is ideal to be installed outdoors. Bhatt is looking forward to hearing from the state government to install them at a public place in Jaipur. “I only require the cost of making and am ready to give them to any city that approaches me,” he says.
To his credit, the visual artist, sculptor and entrepreneur has many art installations and sculptures in stone, marble and metal across India and abroad. Some notable ones are at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, besides sculptures of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and other eminent warriors at the Kartarpur Corridor in Punjab.
Another sculptor from the city, Mukesh Kumar Jwala, has gone a step further by creating yoga sculptures from discarded electronics, thus underlining the urgent need to tackle e-waste on our planet. The visual artist from Rajasthan School of Art was photographing a dumping site of e-waste when he realised the looming threat to the environment. The use of electronics is only seeing an upward trend; and with no reuse option, it would be simply dumped in landfills. “The pandemic has made us realise the importance of yoga. So, I created these sculptures by upcycling e-waste to create awareness regarding both yoga and the environment,” says Jwala.
At his studio, Immortality, Jwala is busy fiddling with computer parts, microchips, keyboards, discarded credit cards and mobiles, most of them given by his friends and acquaintances.
For any sculpture, he first creates a framework of iron rods. The CPU plates are then moulded over it to make the skin of the human body. The material of the CPU is rust resistant. The small and intricate parts of electronics are used to create an artwork. Some manual work is required too, like separating the components of computers, welding some parts, shaping various components and placing them aesthetically over the body. Making such an artwork requires use of both traditional methods as well as technology. The sculptures are durable and can be easily installed outside.
Mukesh says that a motherboard may fade in sunlight, but still has a beauty of its own. Two of his yoga sculptures grace the State Bank of India premises in Delhi. These have been made from the e-waste generated at the bank itself. The 12.5-feet sculptures named Manasvi and Tapasvi are in a yoga posture. Some of his other e-waste artworks are installed in Jaipur and Bhopal.
Both sculptors feel art does play a transformative role. They say artists should be asked to create artworks on contemporary issues and these should then be installed at public places. The idea, they insist, should be to let people engage with art and its message. They believe people’s participation and open conversation would create awareness for a better future.
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