SCULPTED SUCCESS

They are questioning, they are challenging and they are re-defining. Rajashree Balaram speaks to the bold women sculptors who are carving a space for themselves in the upper echelons of the art world

- Rajashree Balaram

Till the beginning of the 20th century, sculpting was widely regarded as the preserve of male artists. In recent times, though, sculptures and installations made by women artists have emerged from a dissolution of stereotypes—of both materials and processes. They are challenging the very norms of creation—by burning, splintering, purging, dissolving, shredding and ripping. Perhaps, therein they let bask as many metaphors for the destruction of taboos, suppression, patriarchy, corruption and discrimination. We spoke to five women sculptors who tell us it’s all that, and so much more.

AYESHA SINGH

Delhi

Besides putting together her exhibits for the India Art Fair, Ayesha Singh is on the verge of starting a project that will see participation of children from several schools in Delhi. “I primarily work with children and encourage them to think about what they want their city to look like in the future.” In nearly every piece of work that she has displayed so far, Singh shows a recurring fascination towards architecture, examining intersections of politics, history and culture from which the built environment of a city manifests over time.

In ‘Hybrid Drawings’ (2017), each piece of work involved a single line of wrought iron worked around multiple contours, such as a cupola, a dome and a triumphal arch, for instance. “It was basically an examination of the hybridised architecture of a city, and how that represents the many movements of its people,” says Singh. “In this current situation, this hybridity that we embody as Indians is getting politicised for all the wrong reasons, but I am not going to shy away from it. I plan to embrace it fully.”

SUMAKSHI SINGH