A bizarre shelf life
Updated On: 05 October, 2012 01:15 AM IST | Surekha S
Installations by artist Prashant Pandey shock many, confuse others and amaze most art lovers as he creates installations using by products of human activities. His second exhibition in this series, Shelf Life II, includes creations made from sweet lime bagasse and road tar
His first solo exhibition, Shelf Life, featured installations that were created from urine, blood, sweat and tears. For Shelf Life II, artist Prashant Pandey seems to have decided to go subtle on the selection of material. The exhibition currently underway at Gallery Maskara features creations made using sweet lime bagasse, marble blast stones, road tar and used copper wire made to look like human hair.

Installation view of the artworks by artist Prashant Pandey at Gallery Maskara
The idea, he explains behind these exhibitions, is to look at discarded materials in a new perspective. “We first love something, then hate it and go back to loving it. We read newspapers everyday but once we have finished with it, we throw it away. People kill and eat animals on one hand and on the other keep pets and care for them. I am looking at attachment and detachment,” explains the Jaipur-based 29-year-old artist. “This exhibition is a reflection of my experiences. I work with human experiences of love, life and death which I showcase in my work,” he adds. The artist says that he is trying to understand different perceptions and look at discarded materials and by-products in a different light.

As I Cut Them made using used copper wire, mild steel and wood
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Look out for a cube made from sweet lime bagasse, a black moon made of discarded road tar and a heart made of white marble blast stones. Pandey hails from a family of marble sculptors and he remembers playing with detached marble blasts as a child. “These stones were used to make gods and goddesses. You connect them to make a form and you blast them to form pieces. The white heart made of these stones, with the cracks in between symbolises love,” he says. The Black Moon was made with chunks of road tar. “It is symbolic of trying to find your own path. In our country, renovating roads is a continuous process. You see one being destructed and at the same time another one being constructed. Each piece is important in the way it is placed,” believes Pandey.

Artist Prashant Pandey
In Yellow, instead of throwing away the pulp of sweet lime, the bagasse has been used to make a beautiful perfect cube. As I Cut Them is a creation where Pandey has used copper wires to resemble human hair. Long strands of hair are surrounded by wires made to look like small chunks of hair. “You take such care of your hair but once it’s cut, it is useless. My works look at by-products of human change. We use things to transform us and throw them away,” reasons Pandey.
Till: November 8; AT Gallery Maskara, 6/7, 3rd Pasta Lane, Apollo Bandar; Call: 22023056
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