Sculpture camp

India is known globally for its unmistakably diverse cultures and art forms. However, over the years, not much of this can be seen today, in the more westernised scene that can be observed throughout the country. One such form is the Rock Dhokra technique, pioneered by Devrai Art Village in Panchgani, a town not far away from home. This technique uses the lost wax technique, in which the initial shape of the piece is made with a proprietary wax that is produced locally, and then encased in multiple layers of a fine clay to form a mold around it. After this, molten brass is poured into the mold via an inlet, causing the wax to evaporate, leaving behind an exact replica of the shape cast in brass. However, the Rock Dhokra technique specifically incorporates a rock into the structure of the sculpture itself in some way, eventually resulting in a beautiful culmination of rock wrapped in brass.

For my piece, I decided to use the natural texture that the rock provides to my advantage, and aimed at creating a harmonious piece that combines nature with human ingenuity. This lead me to reflect upon a theme that is quite significant to me personally, and is one that I have reflected about before, often with mixed judgement at the end of it : Death. I have often found myself captivated by the Latin phrase “Memento Mori” i.e. - Remember Death. This phrase has even inspired art previously, in the vanitas movement. It was through this phrase that I realised how negative the outlook we have on death today is, whereas the term memonto mori itself does not necessarily need to have a negative connotation attached to it. Therefore, I decided to capture this observation in a sculpture using a technique that combines the manmade with a naturalistic element.

About the piece :

The piece itself depicts a human figure on the verge of death, being taken back to his roots by nature. His body appears in a fatigued posture, looking down in a way that is almost gratifying with a solemn loom upon his face. One of the characters legs is created by way of embedding a piece of driftwood in the wax, further emphasising upon the theme of this piece; representing the process by which nature takes back that which it has created. The roots grip upon the rock firmly, bridging the gap between the person and nature.