Carving granite is an evocative endeavour for Odisha’s woman sculptor Nivedita Mishra. She is dedicated to carving and it connects not just with the density and intensity of the granite blocks she works upon but upon the physicality and materiality of the smaller elements she works upon therein.
Carving as sculptural practice has a deep, ancient, global history and this connection between a vision for modern sculpture and methods of making has been employed for centuries, millennia even, across the globe and this is why her works appeal deeply to the common man.
“My connection with stone involves spirituality and reverence for the spirit that dwells within,” says Nivedita as she puts together her series Odyssey at the Lalit Kala Akademi in a small cameo.
“Stone for me is about people and their journeys, it has been on this earth much longer than man and for this reason the stone becomes our teacher, it is simply what my ancestors believe. As a sculptor, I visualise what the stone wants to become and I strive to help it bloom. The granite blocks I use speak to me by its texture and grains. I look at the characteristics of the granite, and then start carving,” she adds.
But when you look at the polished cylindrical series in her works you know that carving is not just simply a method of making sculpture for her; it isan articulation of a particular vision of the sculptor’s craft: it is also inextricably bound up with the articulation of an ‘aesthetic creed’.
Her large work symbolises a cave with apertures that captures the sensations of making temple portals carved with chisels, hammers and mallets from hard, as well as resistant material. This fascination and critical attention to the processes and concept of ‘direct carving’ arguably keeps the commentary of the techniques of sculptural identities and corollaries as her insignia for conversations.
“I find strength, faith, and dignity through my heritage, yet I also find these same things in other cultures – and I derive inspiration and motivation from them as well,” says Nivedita as she runs her hands over her own carving of the triangular templed cave.
A look at the smaller clusters of her work shows as if the earth has created itself into a cathedral of beautiful treasure stones — uncountable shapes and textures, each one stamped with its own rich familial and cultural history.
No wonder, so many of us pick up stones that speak to us, and carry them home, placing them in special niches, and treating them as our own personal discoveries.
Each offers a puzzling mystery to explore; each tweaks our imagination, stimulates our curiosity and raises interesting questions. In the series that echo treasures and boxes and cavities the set of four with lids are the finest in finesse and fervour.