Sign up for artist Madhvi Subrahmanian’s latest exhibition that promises to put your clay sculpture up for viewing
Sculptures made by the public will be included in the piece titled Forest
The art world can often be intimidating thanks to the use of indecipherable tropes and winding language in exhibition notes. But artist Madhvi Subrahmanian's ongoing exhibition, Mapping Memory, takes a different path by inviting the audience to collaborate for an art installation. The theme is urbanisation, relatable to any city dweller. Excited at the prospect of having something created by us put on display at a reputed gallery, we meet Subrahmanian at Chemould Prescott Road.
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"The idea for the show comes from my daily life, my commute, the two worlds I live in [Singapore and Mumbai], the dialogue between the urban landscape and life and nature, and our memories of it," says the artist. The show includes pieces made of stoneware, clay, porcelain, terracotta and earthenware, which portray different aspects of modern living. Subrahmanian tells us that her choice of clay as the main medium is inspired by the philosophy of God moulding man from soil.
A tree shaped by this writer
Urban woes
The first installation, titled Forest, is that of a concrete jungle, with towering barks topped by houses. The second piece is a reflection of the apocalyptic thought of human greed turning cities into future excavation sites.
Other pieces include clay sculptures of buildings which cast shadows in the form of trees, as an ode to the green that's cut to make way for concrete structures. An installation with moving light and sound is a comment on cities that house the ghosts of an eco-system that the land once supported, and the Mappa Mundi (inspired by medieval European maps) series is inspired by the mental maps of familiar locations, with a focus the artist's home cities.
We were asked to sculpt a tree out of red clay. Pics/ Tanvi Phondekar
The artist in us
Post the walk-through, Subrahmanian hands us red clay, which we are asked to shape into a tree. Why clay, we ask. "We are living high up and don't have contact with the ground. Touch is instinctive to us, and when we see a piece of clay, we are triggered to press our fingers into it. Since the exhibition is about memories, the clay may take you back to your childhood. And the tree that you make would also be a result of what you have seen or read."
We sit down with two other participants and agree with Subrahmanian's choice of medium. The smell of wet clay reminds us of a time when the rains called for a run to the house garden to dig through soft, fragrant earth. A member of the housekeeping team of the gallery, who is next in line to mould a tree, tells us about her childhood memories of making utensils out of clay for toys. Another employee quips, "So, you can make a tree of utensils, like Subodh Gupta."
As the three of us complete our pieces, Subrahmanian's thoughts are reiterated as our final pieces look dissimilar, shaped by different memories. Once our piece is placed next to Subrahmanian's sculpture, we leave the gallery with our hands smelling like the first rain and a new memory to cherish.
Till September 29, 11 am to 7 pm
At Chemould Prescott Road, Queens Mansion, Fort. RSVP shaleenwadhwana@gallerychemould.com to participate
Call 22000211
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