Shridhar Iyer, disciple of J Swaminathan, puts up organic installations, coir coats and paper works to describe his spiritual fervour. By Pallavi Gupta
Artist Shridhar Iyer acknowledges his artistry as aJatra — a 24-hour drama without curtains; a drama in cosmo with no name, no identity but where every soul is doing something to create a happening. His exhibits are the matter of his consciousness. His showcase at Art Bull Gallery highlights two videos. The first, Madhurashtkam: One Day I Went Inside The Tree, a film which shows what it feels like to be in a tree. It comes with a message of ‘do not destroy me’. The second, Swayambhu, is about the birth of a saint.
“I am an experimental artist. I tend to use many materials in my work. And it takes time to explore these materials. I have majorly used khus and straw wood in this showcase work of mine. I found this material in Kumbh when I was there for a month,” said Shridhar.
In his own journey Shridhar’s always curious about what is going on behind the façade of devotion and the bhakti. His Yogmaya has black and red sculptures of angels. “It basically means spiritual dead bodies. It is associated with goddess Paravati; the Yogmayas look like pouches which are there to fill in the experiences of one’s existence. The potli hanging is the angel to aid one in life,” he said.
Generally, artists take a safer side and choose media which are more readily acceptable to the human eye for presentation. But Shridhar with his use of khus, matti and coir went the unconventional way. Explaining his art he said, “life is not certain. There is no certainty to anyone’s existence. With this uncertainty surrounding us I believe in doing what I feel. Just like after death the body is thrown away, similarly my work would see an end after some time, so why not experiment on with new ideas.”
His work also shows nature: the forests, the mountains, the rivers and the drama in life. “My art is like a film to me. And in my films I am the hero. It revolves around the action and suspense. I always have an organic sense in making of my piece of art. We are the children of Mother Nature and it is our duty to be a part of the organic purity. I always feel the pressure to connect to the nature in ways possible,” he said.
One of the exhibits has a natural feel. A saintly man stands with coir all over the place — it’s basically a coconut corpse surrounding the man. Yes, it does make you itch about what are the words unspoken. He said, “Through this I have tried making a confession to God. In a letter addressed to God I have asked him to forgive me for all worldly natural human instincts that I bear. I am born to be consumed. I indulge in happiness of loneliness.
I have paid the debt of my birth. And I ask you to forgive my human desires of selfishness.” Tiny khus coats hanging on the wall leaves you fascinated. This work is inspired by his memory of his childhood. The intriguing part of this entire construction is that Shridhar is still figuring out what it can do because this is all part of a transitory journey. In the journey of what is partially doing and reconfiguring is that the artist becomes a veritable spinner who has created his own signature of techniques and sensibilities with a lot of effort.