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Cow dung became his medium in another creation. "An artist", he confesses, "is influenced by his country, culture, politics and the times he lives in.’’ And in his case, the state he hails from, that is Bihar, too, has often defined his visual vocabulary. Mocking at his Bihari identity ("Bihari-accented" English too) to drive home the hidden political humour, he quips, "Identity is very important to begin with". Why one particular installation The Way Home that used stainless steel utensils also included katta the country made pistols that are rather commonplace in Bihar. He elucidates, "I put different objects together each conveying different meaning to tell a story." As he rarely fails to title his works be it the Spill, UFO, Line of Control, Very Hungry God `85. the idea he insists is not to offer an explanation. In fact, he wants viewers to look at the work first and the title later. That in India few cared to look his way for many years doesn’t irk him. Dearth of platforms to showcase contemporary art does, however, rankle him. But whether India needs a patron like UK’s Charles Saatchi, who has Subodh’s works in his collection and also exhibited the same in the exhibition The Empire Strikes Back, Subodh is brutally candid. He shoots off, "Not today. When we needed him he never came." So is the Indian art market abuzz with its own force? Yes, he can sense winds of change with men like Anupam Poddar around, but reminds, "Most of the buyers unfortunately are dealers." Interestingly, among the utensil markets of New Delhi, many going by the huge numbers of utensils he buys for his works think "I am one big dealer of utensils." Seriously, what explains his preoccupation with utilitarian kitchen utensils? He smiles. Love for cooking might be one rather simplistic reason. Memories of formative years could be another. But on a note of gravitas, he observes, "I discovered this material and found both my muse and signature in it." Today, as he goes about creating mammoth installations out of thalis, tiffin boxes, buckets and much more the desire to redefine art and stretch its limits has not diminished one bit. Sceptics might wonder aloud at the need to carve mangoes in bronze in the work Aam Aadmi or to recreate the good old projection system in yet another work There is Always Cinema, he is unapologetic about the manner in which he works. All he would say is, "I am a copycat. I take things from life". But then few possess his eye and uncanny ability to see and interpret life the way he does. As proof stand not only his singularly unique works that have been exhibited around the world (Tate Triennial, Tate Britain, London, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Jack Shainman Gallery and Shirley Fiterman Gallery, New York`85 the list is endless) but also a promotional film on Chanel. When approached to make one, his only refrain was--- "I will do it my way." Juxtaposing Hindi film scenes with real life vignettes rather potently the short film emphasises the role of bags more so in the life of migrant population. Migration as a theme occurs in other works like Across the Seven Seas as he has used airport conveyor belts and baggage to drive home the grim reality of migration. A globe trotting Indian, he has not only completely understood but also mastered the universal language of art while using everyday Indian objects. As a small child when he accompanied his mother to watch theatre in Bihar, he nursed a strong desire to be different. Today, as he lives with gifted artist his wife Bharti Kher ---his best critic and first viewer, too --- the world who often compares him to famed conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp knows Subodh is distinctively unique. And every bit an Indian, too, who has successfully put Indian art on the world map at an astronomically high premium.
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IF he were not an
artist, he would have been a cook. If he had to explain his works, he
wouldn’t have been a visual artist but a writer. Upfront,
unpretentious and, above all, hugely talented, that is Subodh Gupta.
Internationally acclaimed, India’s leading contemporary artist, in
whose hands mundane objects transform and translate into art, more
precisely installations that he discovered for the first time with 29
Mornings, a work created out of peedhas (stools) to
reinforce how religion is way of life in India.