Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Neglected objects acquire an artistic connotation

Prajjwal Choudhury invariably collects his preliminary fuel or basic material from such neglected objects as matchboxes to create his thought-provoking works. Those filled in the unique recycling machine were imparted with a realistic visual appeal, albeit laced with a touch of wry humor that deceived the onlooker about their latent intent.

In one such unconventional artwork curiously named 'Everything has been done before, but we would like to go back and begin all over again', shown as part of a group show 'Re-claim, Re-cite, Re-cycle', he set up a peculiar recycling machine seemingly functioning as a kinetic conditioned for reprocessing and reproducing matchboxes. There were no less than 2000 of them put inside the mixer falling constantly on a moving plate of steel.

After getting accumulated and once the mixer was emptied, they would reenter it by a vacuum process and the recycling process begun. Obviously, here the artist seemed to comment over the manner in which everyday mundane objects tend to be taken for granted by all of us.

Their covers carried images of the artworks of several world-renowned artists like Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Marcel Duchamp apart from those of many from India including Dhruva Mistry, Subodh Gupta, Atul Dodiya, and Jitish Kallat, collating them into a captivating collage.

This exceptional mode of conveying his viewpoint exudes a realistic visual appeal, with a touch of wry humor, perplexing viewers. His satirical approach and a sarcastic way of looking at the phenomenon through his peculiar medium is indeed unique and attention grabbing. For example, in ‘Who Will Be Next’, he collates the images by established artists acclaimed internationally - to suggest what you are seeing now will revisit you, albeit served in a different manner. The images are universally familiar, largely owing to their heavy dissemination in today’s mechanical age.

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