The third edition of the travelling trilogy, ‘Rainforests and the Circle of Life’, by renowned artist Manav Gupta was recently hosted by the High Commission of India, South Africa, at the National Museum, Pretoria. The site-specific installation ‘Unsung Hymns of Clay’ using earthen lamps explores environment consciousness. Architecture+Design brings you a glimpse of the concept and treatment, which is fresh, minimalistic, innovative and original…
The earthen lamp is woven in the cultural-religious fabric of India from time immemorial. Once home, only at the time of worship, they are used as a tool at the altar. Once the prayer ends, it is discarded again to be immersed in Ganges. Its life is strange as the way of the world and the circle of life, like the unsung hymns of clay.
By using the earthen lamp as a metaphor, the artist explores glaring issues of how perception and context interplay with each other. The installation touches upon issues of equality, respect, treatment towards objects, situation, people and the essence of life beyond manmade boundaries. The pollution of the rivers, the shrinking of water and its availability and such other climate change issues have been in the artist’s ethos of work. In this installation, with a minimalistic approach, the artist depicts his philosophy in understated tones that touch deeply and reverberate, lingering in the mind long after the visual engagement ends.

ARCHITECTURE+DESIGN, June 2013