Manav Gupta’s ‘Excavations in Hymns of Clay’ Turns DLF Mall of India into a Travelling Art Museum

Rajkumari Sharma Tankha

If you haven’t visited the DLF Mall of India in Sector 18 recently, now is the perfect time to do so. The mall has been transformed into an unusual public art space thanks to artist Manav Gupta. Gupta has created a travelling museum of large-scale installations made from clay lamps, kulhads and chillums.

It is not every day that the interiors of a bustling shopping mall resemble an art museum, but Gupta’s exhibition Excavations in Hymns of Clay achieves exactly that.

A Unique Art Experience Inside a Mall

The exhibition features five massive art installations placed at prominent locations throughout the mall. Visitors can walk through the space and encounter these striking works as they move around the complex.

However, the installations are on display only until February 18, making it a limited-time experience for art lovers and curious visitors alike.

The five installations include:

• The River Waterfront

• Noah’s Arc

• The Time Machine

• The Beehive Garden Project

• Meet Me By The Riverside

Each installation is visually captivating and conceptually rich, making it difficult to decide which one stands out the most. While The River Waterfront draws attention with its sweeping form, Noah’s Arc impresses with its scale. The Time Machine evokes curiosity, and The Beehive Garden Project fascinates viewers with its intricate design. Meanwhile, Meet Me By The Riverside leaves a lasting impression with its poetic visual language.

Making Art Accessible to the Public

For Gupta, the idea behind creating a travelling museum in a public space like a mall is simple: to bring art closer to ordinary people.

“The idea behind a travelling museum is to make art accessible to as many common people as possible,” says Gupta.

Over the years, the artist has consistently explored themes related to nature, sustainability and human connection with the environment.

Inspired by Rivers and Sustainable Living

Last year, Gupta created the Ganga Waterfront installation at the India Habitat Centre, again using clay lamps, chillums and kulhads. The project later travelled internationally to the Mississippi and the Hudson River in the United States as part of the Global Public Art Project on sustainability, symbolically connecting rivers across the world.

Gupta explains that his artistic practice is deeply rooted in the philosophy of nature and the five elements that sustain life.

“Water and the five elements of nature are our source of sustenance. Ancient civilizations understood and respected this sanctity. We have always drawn nourishment from rivers and we ourselves are made of clay. Through my art, I want to revisit the ancient philosophy of sustainable living,” he says.

Art That Blends Tradition and Contemporary Thought

With Excavations in Hymns of Clay, Manav Gupta blends traditional earthen objects with contemporary artistic expression, turning everyday materials into powerful symbols of sustainability and cultural memory.

For visitors to the DLF Mall of India, the exhibition offers not just a visual spectacle but also an opportunity to reflect on our relationship with nature, rivers and the earth itself.