Mind and metal
PRIYADARSSHINI SHARMA
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Arzan Khambatta's current show reflects a matured mechanics, from a youthful fascination towards metal to a metaphysical fusing with it.
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EXPRESSIVE SPACES: Arzan Khambatta (below) and his creations.
AS if he has broken free from a chrysalis, Arzan Khambatta has titled his present show at the gallery Art & Soul, Mumbai, "Emerge". The 40-year-old sculptor, whose colossal works rise amidst the fumes and noise of sleek cars that traverse the roads of south Mumbai, works that stand giant-size in several corporate headquarters of the financial capital and in many parts of the country too, has finally, it seems, broken free like Freddie.
And sculpted Freddie is Arzan's tribute to the musical genius and almost symbolic of the artist's emergence into a new phase.
New directions
"In this show I felt I needed to make a statement and show them what was going on in my mind, in this moment in time. So there are pieces where things are appearing from the ground, pieces coming together to make complete forms. There are people wanting to get out of their current state and come out on the top." Arzan too has broken from his current state and come out tops.
A mind tickled and fired by common everyday images, by "a large washer that looked like a Mexican sombrero, an electrical part in a Fiat condenser that looked as if a dog was scratching behind his ear," the windmills of Arzan's mind collate all that is commonly unobserved. "I observe everything very minutely. All this information collects in my mind and keeps buzzing around. When the right time comes I pick these ideas out and transform them into works of art. The collections for each show reflect the exact mood I have been in at that time, in that phase."
And in this phase of creativity his mechanics have matured. Playfulness has given way to profundity, keeping the richness of humour intact. Here are works that are thought-provoking, serious and awe-inspiring, created by the welding of mind and metal.
When and where did this change come about? Is it just a part of growing up, the metamorphosis from jocular metallic expression to judgement on junk metal, from a youthful fascination towards metal to a metaphysical fusing with it?
Fluid metal
From a hungry learner, the insatiable student of Anand Mohan Naik in 1982, working in Adi Davierawala's workshop with the master's tools, the young sculptor has chiselled his way up to 40-footers and even higher works. Metal has turned almost fluid in his hands. It has, like wax, melted into figures, bodies, machines, surfaces, finishes that have all taken shapes and voices, lengths and breadths, bone and flesh and, in "mother and child", a soul too!
The turning point to serious sculpting, recollects Arzan, came when a horse head done by him was bought. Hammering away for hours and shaping and welding them led to the first public installation at The Jewel of India, an up-end restaurant in midtown Mumbai. The work got noticed almost immediately. The scrap collector and junk metalworker cut out a larger parameter from now on. He forayed into newer metals. And as if possessed by the fire of his tools, of the gas torches, the welding transformer, grinders, hammers, press, metal chisels, solder gun, compressor, and textured brushes, he moved on to newer materials. "I am a metal fanatic. There's no best material for eternity. But yet, if you ask me to choose just one material, then it will be copper. I began with scrap, scavenging garages for them. I work with stainless steel, copper, bronze sheets, mild steel and even carved wood. But no longer do I use scrap. The next material I am planning to experiment with is bronze casting and maybe a bit of stone carving. I want to try out some new age materials like stretchable vinyl over stainless steel frames. The one material I refuse to touch is fibreglass, because I feel it just does not have any character of its own."
Surprising neglect
And though the shining art scene in the country means a great deal to the young sculptor, he feels that his lot has not got their due. "Definitely sculpture is a neglected art in India. This is very surprising considering that India was the land of sculptures. I am glad the art scene is booming. But on one hand when the painters are enjoying the glory, the sculptors have yet to see their place in the sun."
But the inequity does not perturb Arzan. He has metal, tough and tensile. The works in "Emerge" ("Detail", "Awakening", "Thrust", "Chairmen", "Aas-pass", "Ganesha", "Levity") are all expressions of malleable metal in strong hands and a clear mind.
As the young sculptor labours on, inspired by Dali, Picasso, Miro, Antonio Gaudi and Indo-British Ashish Kapoor, a title of his work sums up the principle behind his creativity that ranges from six inches to 40 feet and more: The impossible just takes a little longer!
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