Two artists explore different mediums in an exhibition that explores their respective skills.
There’s something wonderfully charming about the home of Sunayna and Aman Bahl. Every nook and corner of their residence is bursting with a different kind of art. Intricately carved wooden brackets, windows, doors and panels are what one sees lined in their home, which is tucked away in Gurgaon. In fact, for a split second, I feel like I’ve entered a heritage resort, thanks to the grand entrance sprinkled with green plants and trees, some of which are ensconced in a gorgeous, intricately carved, wooden frame. The Bahls, with their avid interest in procuring these wooden delights, have interesting anecdotes to share, especially since they’ve “been to remote parts of India to get these pieces in wood”.
But is this carving on wood, art? “Yes, it is,” says Sunayna while carefully sipping her tea and showing me some of the pieces that have been a part of her home for the past so many years. Along with her husband, Sunayna remembers getting “truckloads” of these wooden items that were purchased “purely as a hobby”. She adds: “My husband began collecting them and then I joined in and together we used to go to different parts of the country to purchase them from havelis which were getting dismantled.”
These trips took the husband-wife duo to villages in Orissa, Rajasthan, Saurashtra, different parts of Gujarat and many more villages in south India. No wonder the couple’s home is a fascinating glimpse into the myriad cultures of wood carving in India. There are lotus motifs, ambi patterns, floral as well as complex lines and arcs, which come together to create sheer magic in the home of the Bahls.
The magic of wood, in fact, will once again come alive at Epicentre in Gurgaon, at a show that Sunayna and her friend, Nimi Trehan, have planned during December 5-9, 2009. It’s an amalgamation of Bahl’s wooden treasures and Trehan’s abstract paintings, which come together to create the exhibition, titled Space and Time. “It’s one exhibition, where we’ll utilise both the floor space as well as the wall space,” says Sunayna with a smile.
Sunayna and Trehan, both “long-time friends”, as Sunayna explains, decided on the theme of Space and Time nearly seven months ago and began working on it seriously — often exchanging notes across continents, because Trehan resides in the USA.
For her part, says Trehan, “With this series, I will explore the relationship between space and time, its impact on the natural environment, humanity and communities.”
While Trehan, through her medium, has “tried to capture the essence of the interplay of humanity, nature, civilisations and culture”, for Sunayna, the challenge was — and will be — to convince audiences that “furniture of this kind is, indeed art”.
Sunayna, in fact, may have a valid point, and she has reason to worry about this “dying art”, too. “The artisans aren’t there, and while people appreciate the art, it’s really an art form which doesn’t have too many takers,” she explains, adding, “We procured these wooden frames from havelis that were getting dismantled. Soon, there will be a time when one won’t even find these artisans making such intricate brackets.” In fact, this exhibition is a tribute of sorts to these artisans whose “art doesn’t find any audiences”.
That’s why Sunayna has, for this exhibition, decided to give the old wooden carving art a facelift. “My work involves using antiques in contemporary design. These authentic pieces date back 150 to 250 years, and what would usually be called fusion, I would like to call ‘glorification’,” she says. Sunayna moulds these old pieces into utilitarian furniture so they can find meaningful use in modern spaces.
That explains why Sunayna is contemporising the individual pieces — taking a 100-year-old piece of carved wood from Kerala, for instance, and merging it in a way that makes it part of a console. In what was one of her biggest challenges, another old bracket from Ahmedabad was curved with precision (“Imagine how difficult it would’ve been to curve a wooden piece?”) to form part of a coffee table designed in a very contemporary manner.
If the furniture at the exhibition will blend the old and new for a contemporary twist, Trehan’s paintings, too, will look at colour, texture and rhythm to work in harmony. “These paintings carry a hidden meaning, an added level of information or mystical symbolism. Each painting should be contemplated over time. Look beyond the surface to connect with a fragment that resonates on an emotional level,” Trehan explains.
