HERITAGE-INSPIRED ART EXHIBITION

Team L&M

A scaled architectural model of a 4,000 sq.ft. stone mural on a façade of a building; a step well rendered in marble; a model of Lingaraj Temple crafted from teak wood; an architectural frieze of the Jagannath Temple in Puri; and a mural wall installation depicting the historic garden scenes of Rajasthan.

These and many more art pieces can be seen at Reimagining Traditions, an exhibition at India International Centre in New Delhi from April 20.

The show by curator, designer, visual artist Siddharth Das exhibits his journey through two decades of collaboration with traditional artists and artisans and reinterpreting cultural heritage through art. From concept sketches to finished pieces, the art pieces are accompanied by short animations and documentary films exploring the process behind their making, ‘a way of seeing’ the creation of the pieces.
The show exhibits pieces created on paper, textiles, stone, wood, and metal among other materials, and craft products in bamboo, stone, lacquer, brass, and wood.

Additionally, the exhibition features a series of black-and-white and colour photographs on makers and landscapes from 35mm negatives and slides; botanical paintings and prints showcasing India’s diverse flowering plants, alongside a curated selection of craft products born from workshops conducted with artisans nationwide.

Das, a visiting faculty at various institutions including the Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (CEPT) and National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad; Central Saint Martins, London and Willem de Kooning Academie (WdKA), Rotterdam, has worked on cultural projects across the world for over 20 years, conceiving and implementing these projects across various disciplines of design, architecture, art and crafts.

An alumnus of University of Delhi and the National Institute of Design (Ahmedabad). In 2002, he founded the multi-disciplinary Siddhartha Das Studio which works on responsible design and cultural spaces across the world. They lead or collaborate on different aspects of strategy, curation and design for cultural institutions, museum complexes, thematic exhibitions; art projects and installations; and livelihood programmes rooted in crafts communities.

He has also extensively worked across the world, and has been a part of art residencies in Canada and Japan and has created installations at the Bengaluru International Airport, Southbank Centre, London, and at sites in Bhubaneswar and Ahmedabad.

ON VIEW from April 20-30, 11am – 7pm. AT: Art Gallery,
Kamaladevi Complex, India International Centre, New Delhi