Taking Panchatantra to Paris: Vikram Goyal dives into the process of creating old-world tales for the current times

Multi disciplinary artist and designer Vikram Goyal has had a busy October First Nilufar Gallery unveiled his latest collection featuring lighting mirrors and furniture at PAD London design fair Next Vikram Goyal Studio showcased The Soul Garden an immersive installation at Design MiamiParis presented by The Future PerfectFor Goyal this marked his debut with threedimensional animal sculpturesThe installation is a collaboration with Berlinbased Norwegian olfactory artist and researcher Sissel Tolaas It was presented in the gardens of LrsquoHocirctel de Maisons once the Parisian home of Karl Lagerfeld Goyalrsquos muse mdash the Panchatantra animal fables we have grown up reading and listening to The artist discusses what drew him to the Panchatantra and how he works with traditional Indian crafts for a contemporary design storyWhat drew you to the Panchatantra fablesWe wanted to show a collection of animal sculptures that drew from India In India we believe that animals have feelings theyrsquore part of the whole transmigration of souls and thatrsquos why theyrsquore considered divine We also have this history of the Panchatantra Tales with the animals as central characters and therersquos a moral lesson to each of these So my idea was to spotlight Indiarsquos cultural history and the fables to create this multisensory landscapeSissel Tolaas and Vikram GoyalAnimals communicate through smell and I wanted that to be an important dimension Sissel took up the molecules of the habitat of the animals and of the material used to make the animals We placed stools all around the animals in the garden When you sat down you could get a sense of the different smells and the animalrsquos habitat which kind of makes you think about the way they were made It was such a wonderful way of bringing back to life these days from our childhoodWhat was the audiencersquos takeaway from this seriesThey were completely blown away We had so much fun and a fantastic response in the international press In the evening the actors from Cours Florent Parisrsquo leading drama school would recite and enact the fables It brought a lot of worlds together The sculptures have secret compartments with the fables inside People liked the lessons in life and morality linked to the fables I feel The Soul Garden is a very beautiful example of how we can evolve Indian craftsmanship And also include other Indian arts Indian literature in our current artistic dialogueVikram GoyalHow do you present traditional crafts and texts for a contemporary audienceBy creating installations or sculptures or artworks that resonate for todayrsquos contemporary aesthetic which is rooted in the folklore and craft of the past Our sculptures are contemporary but the fables are hidden inside which is very spiritual because itrsquos hidden away And I believe your spiritual part of your life should be kept inside but wersquove made them in a contemporary aesthetic in our own unique studiorsquos aestheticWhat was the challenging part of creating these modern sculpturesThis is the first time Irsquove done threedimensional animal sculptures It pushed me out of my comfort zone because theyrsquore very complex to doYour thoughts on AI in the arts and designI stay away from AI but certainly rely on technology to make artistic renderings in a very short period of time so that the design process becomes more efficient I like change and I think change is important if itrsquos due in the right way Otherwise you end up repeating yourself and doing the same thing We just have to see how best to harness it where you can still be originalWhat do you think about international galleries taking notice of Indian artists and art consumers in the recent pastTherersquos an increasing interest in India and not just Indian art due to the unique craftsmanship and materials of India If you layer that with contemporary design it makes for a good proposition for them They are looking at India as a big market because Indian consumers at the high end are looking outside the Indian borders for worldclass contemporary design and art