Kolkata-born, London-based artist Sayan Chanda weaves textile sculptures that bring memories of childhood to life
A Smear and The Crown is a textile and ceramic exhibition by Sayan Chanda. Pics/Ashish Raje
London-based artist Sayan Chanda attributes his skill and development as a textile artist to the rich cultural experiences—ripe with ceremonial pomp and pageantry—of his childhood in Kolkata.
He played with idols in the shrine of Manasa (the goddess of snakes) located behind his home, and had a collection of clay idols built from visits to local fairs. “I still refer to them to this day, and they’ve inspired my recent experiments with ceramics,” he says. Fittingly, he’s in Mumbai with this textile and ceramic exhibition titled A Smear and The Crown.
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While specialising in the study of textiles and weaving at the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad in 2009, he discovered a penchant for minimal designs, a pared down colour palette and a heavy preference for natural materials like sisal, hand-spun cotton and natural dyes with a sense of history. Today, he uses textile and ceramic techniques to explore memories attached to the indigenous votive and ritual objects he grew up with.
Chanda’s recent works are large woven sculptures that seem to shape-shift between a sequence of stories. “My works are hybrid forms that fundamentally serve as physical receptacles of my own anxieties, mythologies, memories and encounters,” he says. “However, each body of work performs different functions. The larger tapestries are like portals—slits revealing and concealing an imaginary environment. In contrast, the ceramic pieces are almost votive objects, made swiftly and intuitively.”
When trying to explain what he is expressing through his art, he references a jumble of emotions that are attached to incidents and talismans from his early years. He recalls being surrounded by “a strong female energy at home”, which perhaps kindled his interest in textiles. “I used to spend a lot of time with my grandmother, often rummaging through her sarees,” he says. “I vividly remember her drying her Jamdanis in the sun, and playing around them; weaving in and out as I ran about.”
About his work in the future, he says, “I’m an artist who works with textiles, and I’ll probably continue to stick to these materials because I know they won’t hurt me. Wood and metal, on the other hand, seem a bit risky!”
WHAT: A Smear and The Crown
WHERE: Jhaveri Contemporary, third floor, Devidas Mansion, Apollo Bandar, Colaba
WHEN: Till October 22, Tuesday to Saturday, 11 AM to 6.30 PM
CALL: 22021051
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