Artists never at rest

CHENNAI: City-based artist, Shalini Biswajit had never realised that a trek to the Everest base camp could have resulted in such an intense series. Shalini’s current art collection ‘Ever at Rest’ is a part of ‘Metaphors and Materials’ - a show she has hosted along with Delhi-based artist Puneet Kaushik.  ‘Metaphors and materials’, organised as part of Art Chennai, combines the toughness of steel and the delicacy of coral beads which allow the artists to explore the realm of human emotions. For both Puneet and Shalini, the canvas is a nature-inspired ‘metaphoric field’ on which the steel and coral beads act only as an extension of nature.Shalini’s works are stainless steel (machine cut) on canvas, while Puneet’s are coral beads on canvas and weaving, crochet work using wires and steel. “These installations took over three years to complete, while the small ones usually take a month-and-a-half,” says Puneet. “My works reflect my trek to the Everest Camp. It was very enriching and inspirational at the same time. If you have noticed, the stainless steel pieces have little ‘windows’ made in them, I call them my spiritual awakening moments,” says Shalini. The cool blues signify glaciers and warmer hues denote the monastries she visited during the trek.While Shalini tries to portray her spiritual journey through her works, Puneet depicts ‘Self and the Surface’. Made using an interesting Tibetan technique, his series compares the inner and outer being. When asked about his favourite, he says, “Nothing is a favourite, but ‘The cloud with a silver lining’ is the closest to my heart. It has been made using fabric laundry tags and steel. It has a positive message embedded in it.”‘Metaphors and Materials’ has 20 artworks (10 by each artist) on display at the Forum Art Gallery, 57, 5th Street Padmanabha Nagar, Adyar. The exhibition is on till April 12.