Artists from 5 countries create art from industrial scrap

New Delhi: Artists from five countries have come together at Vijayanagara in Karnataka for a three-week long residency to create artworks fashioned out of industrial scrap.

At the residency 'Abhisaran', which began on November 10 and stretches to the end of the month, a total of 10 artists from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal are creating paintings, installations, video and sound.

Artists make use of site-specific material like metal scrap, local pottery, local crafts and material at the residency, which is being supported by the JSW Foundation.

Artist Baptiste Coelho attempts to "collect the psyche of a steel plant worker inside a jar."

"Baptiste has been going around with his artistic process that is quite overwhelming," says Amit Jain, who has curated the event.
 

Jain, a museum professional, says he conceived the event with Sangita jindal, Chairperson, JSW Foundation. The artists, he says, have been encouraged to visit nearby towns to create art pieces, which benefit the community at large.

Visual artist Sheelasha Rajbhandhari, from Nepal has chosen to work with local banjaran women and her artwork touches upon issues of women's empowerment.

Also Chinthaka Thenuwara from Sri Lanka, says Jain has created a massive 14 ft x 9 ft enclosure where everything has been fashioned out of found scrap.

"Mahbubur Rahman from Bangladesh has created a video art, which is a monumental work. He placed it in the local market and got a lot of responses from the community," says Jain.

At the end of the residency, says the curator, the artworks would be placed in communities in and around Vijaynagara.

"The idea is to inspire artists to push their boundaries and create works that engage with the community and how they can communicate with general audiences," says Jain.