|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
When Vibha Galhotra first voiced her desire to become an artist, her father’s only reservation was, "Don’t become a jhola chaap artist (read an artist with no money)". Today, of course, as the daughter has become a globe-trotting avant-garde artist, the father is still bemused with her unusual choice of material and ability to weave it all together. He even wonders aloud, "Pray, who will buy all this?"
The world, however, is applauding collectors like Anupam Poddar, who are too keen to buy and museums that include prestigious ones such as Essl Museum, Austria, Singapore Art Museum, San Jose Museum, USA, lapping up her work, which is, at once, experimental and stimulating. Perturbed by growing urbanisation, environmental concerns are first and foremost on the young artist’s mind. She says, "I am not an activist but my works are an indictment of urbanisation of the changing environment." She is greatly influenced by the works of environmental artists like Andy Goldsworthy and Christo. An avid reader of the
prophecies of Nostradamus, she doesn’t predict an apocalypse but
feels the world will change drastically.
Her work New Cultivars, made up of grass and iron with grass growing out of gun-shaped podiums, alludes to similar sentiments. As she puts it: "Global warming is a real threat and so is terrorism. On the one hand, we are replacing natural landscapes with man-made things and then in a bid to snatch these, we spread terror." In a digital print, Work in Progress, her pique with growing urbanisation and ceaseless construction in the name of development manifests strongly as well as aesthetically. "It was a dream-come-true" for Vibha when she got a chance to work with renowned sculptor Ashish Ghosh in Lithuania. "An alumnus of the
Government College of Art, Chandigarh and Kala Bhavan, Visvabharati,
Santiniketan, Chandigarh-born Vibha knew she didn’t belong to the
City Beautiful. After she moved base to Delhi in 2004, things started
moving at a fast pace and soon she had two residences abroad. By then,
the art world had begun to nod appreciatively.
The turning point came in 2007 when she created her much-acclaimed work, a beehive made out of ghungroos, once again a reflection of urban congestion. Ghungroos, interestingly, remain her muse till date. Recently she created veils of ghungroos. Ghungroos as a leitmotif of her creations came to her when she visited a music shop, along with friends, who wanted to buy some musical instrument. A self-confessed collector, who loves working with found objects, one of her memorable works, The Collective, has been created out of bits and pieces that came her way through barter exchange with friends and fellow artists. Has India woken up to such a unique idiom and vocabulary that she and other cutting-edge artists of her generation are employing? Vibha, however, feels mediums are not art. "Be it installation, paintings or sculptures, what matters is what is being said through them. Besides, how can GenNext artists not respond to technology that is so easily available and accessible? We are the Google generation. The intervention of technology in art is a forgone thing." But hers is no assembly line production. In fact, she is not even a prolific artist and, at best, creates three to four works in a year. Often large, "I need a full wall", though currently she is also engaged in smaller 10-inch creations. Repetition of material or style is an anathema to her. Scrounging markets for newer materials, the explorer in her is forever in search of creating anew and afresh. Success rests lightly on young shoulders. Even though she has exhibited at Miami Art Basel, Jack Shainman Gallery USA, Indigo Blue Art Gallery, Singapore, Museum of Contemporary Art, China, and picked up awards like the Inlaks Foundation award, she states that it’s not achievements but whatever she has learned en route that excites her. About Santiniketan, she reminisces, "When I first joined it, I was in tears. But soon fell in love with the place where you can’t find either a cup of decent coffee or even watch television. But while taking you back to the 18th century, it introduces you to a world that is beautiful and vibrant brimming with history and culture." Dying traditions perturb her. She wants to work at the grassroots level to reach out those in the remote corners of the country. Along with her husband, she has formed an NGO, which aims to do art with public within public spaces. Meanwhile, her quest for that elusive creation after which she can comfortably retire continues. But judging the way she is racing ahead, the art world is unlikely to let her renounce anytime soon.
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
