Manav Gupta, Rain Rainforest and the Beehive Garden, Art and Sustainability, Climate Change, Environment Consciousness, Manav Gupta Artist, Manav Gupta Installations, Paintings, Works, Indian Contemporary Art, Sculpture, Manav Gupta Sculptures and Installations

Rain, Rainforest & the Beehive Garden.

Rain is a large site specific environmental art installation where the artist reimagined and repurposed a prosaic Indian pottery unit called ‘chillam’ (a clay pipe used for smoking marijuana and hash), transforming it into a raindrop. Assembling and weaving several chillums as raindrops in long strands of varying heights ranging from 15ft to 30 ft in a labour intensive process, and hanging them from various heights, he creates rain, at different locations, conceptualising a three dimensional immersive site specific composition as a thought out and yet spontaneous response to space and location.

 

The most expansive and largest edition so far has been his seminal installation ‘Rain, Rainforest and the Beehive Garden’ at his magnum opus ‘arth – art for earth’ public art project where along with five other installations of his, he punctuated 27 acres of IGNCA lawns hosted by Ministry of Culture, Govt of India in 2018. Spanning almost half an acre, rain embraced the Neem and Arjuna trees, as a metaphor of saving the lungs of the city, in the mega metropolis pollution of Delhi.

Manav Gupta, Rain Rainforest and the Beehive Garden, Art and Sustainability, Climate Change, Environment Consciousness, Manav Gupta Artist, Manav Gupta Installations, Paintings, Works, Indian Contemporary Art, Sculpture, Manav Gupta Sculptures and Installations

As Sculpture Magazine sums up: ‘Manav Gupta affirms the age-old sanctity of earth and clay, assembling everyday objects made by potters from across India to create huge installations that convey hope, passion, and the journey and transience of life. Using just a few types of functional items—the diya lamp, the kullad tea cup, and the chilam smoking pipe—he succeeds in creating something contemporary yet timeless in its ability to tell a powerful story. Massed in their hundreds and thousands, these humble items gain new significance, as tradition reimagined makes an eloquent case for sustainable practices that respect the earth’s resources while transforming the familiar into something completely unconventional, unexpected, and magical.’

 

In 2019, Times of India recorded “To his credit, Manav has six most iconic and revolutionary art projects in India this decade’.

“Transforming the familiar into something completely unconventional, unexpected, and magical.”

-Sculpture Magazine

About

Rain espouses two key epithets that the artist uses for the installation –

 

‘The city needs trees. We all need water’.
and
‘Why do drugs, let’s get drenched in rain’

 

This installation emanates from a passionate trajectory of the artist along multiple dimensions of his calling, vision and philosophy. It addresses art, and its intersections with design; repurposing craft; engagement of art in unconventional spaces and architecture; environmental consciousness, call to climate action; and addressing drug abuse.

 

To execute and manifest the simple visual context entailed a complex artistic process of reimagining an object like a ‘chillam’, and innovating its design as a unit and a collective, in a hitherto unexplored way. To translate the thought into a valid end result of 3-dimensional architectural ensemble that could make use of trees available, and their shapes, called for creative application and process. To visualise site specific compositions at different locations, of scale and dimensions that could go into spaces upto one acre, the artist is particular about keeping the composition relevant to the space, interesting, free and easy flowing, curving dropping and shaping in form, to create the right perspectives, and visual appeal.

 

‘As a creation inspired from falling rain, I wanted to challenge myself to execute the idea of creating rain as an installation which is as close to the real visual experience of nature, as well as underline my call to climate action, respect for water and the water cycle, embrace trees as the lungs of a city, as also bring hope, that it spurs an engagement of social change, by motivating people to abandon drug abuse for the pleasures of nature’s intoxicating romance and love. However utopian a thought it might be, it did resonate with people pondering on it.’

Quoting Art Critic Sumati Maheswari ‘The true essence of Gupta’s creation lies in the wonder and awe that it evokes, of art imitating nature. Right from the first glance that the viewer has – as a first panoramic perspective encounter, the moment he/she has rain in sight, right up to the point when one stands amidst the falling rain hanging from tree branches. This immersive encounter allows viewers to appreciate Gupta’s skilful portrayal of the simple yet profound phenomenon of rain. The effect created by Gupta’s installation is akin to the visual experience of an object placed between parallel mirrors, evoking a sense of fascination and immersion. Interestingly, this sensation surpasses the intoxication typically associated with the chillum itself. Gupta encourages his audience to metaphorically “get drenched in the rain,” enticing them to fully embrace the artistic encounter.

 

Rain, his work comprising chilum -the traditional smoking pipe of clay associated with intoxication – strung meticulously into thin wires, succeeds in creating a poetic depiction of rain. The viewer can feel the flow of drops. The pitter-patter is tapped in a drenching fall in the remarkable use of one element to depict another. Clay for water. Diyas arranged most cleverly on wires define the sense of play in his own understanding of rain and its geometry. “Each strand is important. Each string is important,” he adds.

 

He catches the flow in broken geometry. He arrives, very close in his work, at the inner texture of the falling rain. It is understood and experienced best when one walks through the strings of clay chilum falling from tree branches. It is while standing between the falling wires studded with the chilum when Gupta’s fine handling of the most simple activity in nature and season, that of rain, arises distinctly. The effect is similar to what a viewer would experience when he sees an object kept between parallel mirrors. This, in particular, is more intoxicating than any intoxication associated with the chilum itself. “I tell my viewers – get drenched in the rain of chilum,” he says.

 

It is fascinating how his work grows and develops for months after he has put up the installations – out in the open. “Trees are my laboratory”, he says. Gupta has used fallen trees for sculptures in the past. In the current display, the falling of rain in Rain from tree branches has a symbolic significance. Rain needs trees, and trees rain. Rain invites life. Worms, insects, birds, creepers, climbers, and seedlings live and play on and around this installation.’

 

Swarajya magazine continues to point out ‘No other artist has used clay and pottery in public art like Manav Gupta. His works on nature and climate change are extensive, in harmony with themes and sites he chooses, and soul stirring. In the back drop of the recent Kerala floods, his series, ‘Arth’ (meaning), stands as the most gentle and revolutionary expression of art exposed to rain, trees and sunlight. Depletion of natural resources, recreating and sustaining, are at the core of the series. Gupta relies on architecture and nature to produce installation works out of material, which, if not meticulously blended into his philosophy and thought, would mingle in surroundings – as any other mundane clay object meant for use, as dust. In his art work, these objects become more than mere ‘useful’ kiln-burnt pieces of utility. They acquire meaning. They become grains of a flow – moments in a story and chapters in Arth, the continuing series of works dedicated to nature and environment. They transform into remnants of an element, beaded together. Assembled together, woven into various patterns with the help of thin wires and knots. “Weaving happens differently. For softer flow, I use chilum,” he adds

 

It is remarkable how Gupta’s artwork continues to evolve and transform over months as the installation remains exposed to the elements in outdoor settings. He considers trees as his laboratory, having previously utilized fallen trees as sculptural elements. In the current display, the symbolism of rain falling from tree branches holds significance. The interplay between rain and trees further deepens the conceptual layers of Gupta’s artwork. Human presence is pleasant disturbance. Parakeets fly in and out of the Beehive Garden project – one of the most fulfilling works. Parakeets leave feathers behind as temporary mementos on clay on the beehives. The cuckoo continues the dialogue with trees. Other birds visiting the trees discuss their daily lives, swinging on the raindrops of clay in ‘Rain’, once in a while. Crows grumble nesting issues.

 

“Arjuna and neem trees are being lynched for their medicinal values. They have to be nurtured. It is a reverse process. We have to nurture trees and, therefore, rain,” he adds. The act of weaving, beading, threading knotting, tying untying, assembling dismantling – the fundamental fabric of Indian textures, lives and traditions, is the basis of his unique use of clay. Nature begins to twine around the numerous units of clay in his work. But clay, the medium, itself, remains detached and unnerved by continuing activity around it. It stands in the music of bird song and rain.
He has to dismantle “each and every unit” for the travelling museum. The reassembling of the units swirls up a new cycle of recreation every time, every display, every site. Earth to art to metaphor and back. “Dust to dust”. No one uses baked clay for public art like Manav Gupta and nothing scrubs the soul better than clay.’

Manav Gupta, Rain Rainforest and the Beehive Garden, Art and Sustainability, Climate Change, Environment Consciousness, Manav Gupta Artist, Manav Gupta Installations, Paintings, Works, Indian Contemporary Art, Sculpture, Manav Gupta Sculptures and Installations

“No other artist uses clay and pottery in public art like Manav Gupta.”

– Swarajya | September, 2018

About
DESIGNFORM | Making

Scale. Depth. Strength. Durability. Juxtaposition. View. Positioning. Site-Specific.

Thirty feet high. Half an acre dense.

Rain. Embracing Neem and Arjuna Trees.

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“Brilliant. Moving.”

-Prof B. N. Goswamy
Art Critic, Scholar, Historian.

“Iconic.”

-Uma Nair
Art Critic and Curator, Researcher

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“I am simply walking the path of infinity with a life dedicated to art. If my humble drop in the ocean can help bring about the change in thinking that is so needed in today’s crass, commercialized, mechanized existence, if it can add a dab of spiritual context to the world as it takes art and culture as a vehicle of change across boundaries, it makes my artistic process that much more fulfilling.”

 

– Manav Gupta | Sculpture Magazine

Dialogues at the Waterfront

The artist’s 25 year old process of engaging with all stakeholders of society to have meaningful conversations through engagement with his art that brings awareness about climate change, environment consciousness and sustainable development.

Public Art | Engagement

People

Education | Schools

Outreach Programmes | Thought Experiments

"Why do drugs?
Let's get drenched in rain"

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Etymology | Iterations | Editions

Manav first experimented on his studio terrace under the open sky, in 2012, to create the three dimensional immersive and real rain like visual experience through a physical, tactile organic medium, to explore possibilities of both indoor and outdoor installation. It rained as he finished creating Rain. The artist felt in sync with his destiny. Besides the challenge of an expanding installation hanging from the sky, there was structural design conceptualisation of creating a matrix of geometry with the heights of different units at which each would hang. The key essence of how rain meets earth and the splattering raindrops bouncing off were an important artistic attention to detail.

 

The next small iteration of rain was created by the artist in his ‘Message in a bottle’ -a 15 ft high sculpture as a call to discard plastic and respect water in 2014 at Aerocity, T3 International Airport Terminal in New Delhi.

 

In 2015, rain falling along the wall formed a part of his seminal installation ‘Rain, the Ganga Waterfront along Time Machine’. He wove diyas (traditional earthen lamps) on the wires, adding an element of vibrating, pulsating material playfulness to his interpretation of rain and its geometric patterns grazing the surface as it falls. Emphasizing the significance of each strand and string, Gupta highlights the intricate details within his artwork. Through this deployment, Gupta effectively captured the essence of rain falling along the walls, allowing the viewer to perceive the cascading droplets.. and experience the rhythmic sound of raindrops. Building the fragmented geometry of rain, provided for an intimate glimpse into the texture of falling raindrops.

 

He formally hosted a global premiere of ‘Rain’ at the Sculpture Garden he created at his Collector’s House in Amrita Shergill Marg, New Delhi in the latter half of 2017. It was a 30ft high, and 200ft wide installation. And it was hung from trees with no mechanised support of boom ladders but just the traditional ladders. His signature ‘Dialogues at the waterfront“ series recorded a very high footfall of leading figures from all walks of life. He invited people to step into the rain for the immersive experience after conversations on sustainability. With this edition the artist opened the discourse to issues of inequalities and the dichotomy of context and perception – pointing to ‘prosaic can be luxury’ where the humble and prosaic ‘chilams’ adorn premiere address and space as art in a permanent collection.

 

Following this he was invited to punctuate 27 acres of IGNCA lawns hosted by the Ministry of Culture, Govt of India. That led to his ‘Rain, Rainforest and the Beehive Garden’ at his ‘arth – art for earth’ public art project in 2018 extended twice upto almost an year by public demand.

2018

arth - art for earth by Manav Gupta | IGNCA, New Delhi | Ministry of Culture, Govt of India

2017-2018

Rain | Private Prototype Museum, Amrita Shergill Marg, New Delhi

2012

Etymology | The Making of Rain | Artist's Studio Laboratory