A sculptor’s guide to cubism and what not

CHENNAI: It was after 24 years that Dr C Jawahar was back in Chennai, doing what he loved. He is a zealous sculptor, who explores the elements and principles of art, deep delving into the essence of 3-d sculpture.

His memories of the city are indelible. “This is where my story began,” he says. Since 2013, Jawahar has been working as faculty member at the Fine Arts Department in the Scientific College of Design, in Oman.

But his stay in Chennai comes with a purpose. A purpose which he strongly espouses. “I have curated my solo exhibition, an exclusive sculpture art exhibition, titled, Colours of Earth. This also marks my return to the ceramic artistry clan of the city, which I must say, has developed exponentially,” Jawahar explains.

In the exhibition, Jawahar has more than 40 ceramic, wood, metal, acrylic, and terracotta artworks on display. All the sculptures are based on different concepts, techniques and mediums. He opines, “The audiences will also get an experience in understanding various aspects of 3D sculptures.”

He has been inspired by the science of colours, textures, shapes, forms, and designs. “I have an acute fascination with the movements of the world around me. I find inspiration in everything I witness around me,” he says.

There are countless sub-disciplines in the art of painting. In search of an answer to what is appropriate for him, and what his mind was seeking, Jawahar traveled far and wide to familiarise himself with technologies in multi-disciplinary fields. “Be it layout design, screen printing, stall designs, or window display designs. I started to explore all fields of art. Although all these are called by different names now, when I was studying, it was all advertising,” Jawahar says.

A graduate from the Government College of Fine Arts, by the end of 1995, he moved to the Lalit Kala Academy to use the ceramic studio in order to polish his skills. Between 1999 to 2001, he went as far as Virudhachalam to make idols for research work and set up a workshop with friends to start manufacturing ceramic idols. Jawahar adds, “Even today I go to Virudhachalam to create my ceramic art courses and prepare for the next exhibition. There is no obstacle in the joy of labor.”

“Curating Colours of Earth took me four short years,” he says giggling. It was an evident giggle which expressed his four long years of yearning to come back home, and show how he had moulded himself intricately to the art.

“In my ceramic pieces, I have used figures with long legs. I have evidently drawn references from the renowned Spanish surrealist artist, Salvador Dalí. In wood and copper, I use cubism, which was a revolutionary new approach to representing reality in the early-20th-century. I have used the technique to create a bulls-jallikattu, and its movements,” explains Jawahar.

The terracotta works of Jawahar have portraits and bird anatomy structure references, which he has transformed into an alto-relievo, as a wall hanging. He finds the fresh colours and uniqueness of the glassy surface. Many of his sculptures are also sustainable, which have been moulded to perfection using plastic waste.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, “I realised that there has been a growth in Chennai’s art movement,” Jawahar points out. “Now there are at least five to six art exhibitions every week, which has brought about a significant increase in the number of galleries,” he adds.

Garden sculptures, and wall relief murals are just some of the new art techniques which he says has been dominating the city now.

Witness the exhibition Colours of Earth, which is open till August 28, from 9.30 am to 6.30 pm at Laburnum & Indigo Galleries, of Cholamandal Artists’ Village.