Narayan Sinha is a “scavenger”. But he doesn’t conform to the dictionary meaning of the word. Certainly, his work involves picking up things discarded by others, but he is an artist; he envisions art in waste. He is a magician, who can assemble, shape, reshape, construct, deconstruct and mould something spectacular from ‘nothing’ with his sleight of hand. Calcutta has been a witness to his sorcery in tangible forms at many venues and his remarkably stupendous installation exhibition Firelight in 2021 has left a permanent imprint on not just 12 Queens Park, but our minds as well. The language of his sculptures is strong and not confined to any one dimension.
The Nalhati boy, one of the finest contemporary artists in India, who has travelled the world with his artworks, has bagged the coveted Artists for the Earth 2024 award by Harshavardhan Neotia and Earth Day Network India recently. He received the award at an intimate ceremony held at Raasmanch in Swabhumi. We caught up with the ‘brave’ sculptor who talks about the award, his works being acquired by Warner Bros. and Delta Airlines, and why he is ready to shed his inhibitions and let his creative DNA connect with all.
Congratulations on the award, Narayan! How important is it to be awarded by an organisation like Earth Day India Network that truly values the ethos and philosophies of an artist who cares for the planet?
I am pleased that people are appreciating my work. It’s not just about the art connoisseurs who know the complex language of art at an intellectual level who are liking it but people from all fields are appreciating my art in their own way. Being an Indian and Asian artist, any award is special but this is by far the biggest and the most special award. I am not a person who does marketing or promotes his art in a strategic manner; I’m a very quiet person in my practice. This award is extremely important in my life because of the cause that I champion, my practice that is based on a humble principle of sustainability, a plastic-free world and pollution-free world. People at large never talk about all these things. I grew up in an industrial area, a very dusty one with a deafening cacophony, where I felt things needed to be changed. It took years but people listen to my voice now. It’s a huge thing for me that the Earth Day Network India heard my voice, and decided to acknowledge it with an award. I’m humbled.
How important is the accessibility of art among the common people, for you, apart from art aficionados?
To be honest, in today’s world, art has been highly commercialised. I am not absolutely against it but if art is made only for a handful of people who have economic power, and exhibited in galleries frequented by the affluent, then that is not pure art for me and that is not going to work for me. I am not doing what I am doing for anybody; I am doing it for myself. When I started working on my projects with metal scraps in front of our factory, people would often stand for hours and watch me; they would be curious to know what I was making. So, there has always been some sort of interaction with the common man. From my base level, I am really connected with people. I am a people’s person. I am an artist who works at the ground level.
When I decided to go beyond the gallery and started doing interior designing or space development as I would rightly call it, I wanted individuals to come and interact with it. I wanted people to have a connection with it, feel it, experience it and derive joy from it. I strongly feel that art should be in everybody’s life.
ARCHIVE PICTURES OF NARAYAN SINHA’S EXHIBIT FIRELIGHT IN 2021
While you want your art to reach the common man, we learnt that your installations have been picked up by globally renowned brands like Warner Bros. and Delta Airlines. How do these achievements make you feel?
Yes, and I believe it’s a big achievement for Indian art. Warner Bros. bought my installation from a show that we had in Maimi, US. I have information that they have put it in front of their creative room. Generally, we are not informed who the collectors are, but we got to know that Beverly Hills people are collecting my things. Delta Airlines has put my piece in one of their VIP lounges.
Tell us more about these installations.
The one that Warner Bros. bought is 99 faces of human beings and is called Mask. With it, I depicted the many layers of a human’s identity. We have so many layers that go beyond our name and gender. There are unreal identities, unreal emotions and every day we’re decoding them. Still, we are confused and we don’t even know who we are. You and I were very different people 10 years ago; the way you present and understand your existence now is very different, it’s a continuous process of growth. Also, when I came to Calcutta or went to big cities like Delhi or Mumbai, I discovered that people carry a façade. I am not saying it’s bad or good, but I found many layers in people. I am a very direct person, so being a newcomer to the other world, it was very confusing for me. It made life more complex. That was my idea of the Mask. I hope they (Warner Bros.) understood the complexity in my art.
Delta Airlines bought a collective palate with mostly recycled and upcycled objects. I used water purifiers, radiators used in trucks and cars, and in air conditioners etc. I used the yellow filter paper and together they became a mark of celebration. With this I drew an analogy with life and how our struggles and conflicts purify us.
While we all know that you work mostly with industrial scraps, we have also seen you dabbling with different mediums. Some of the works displayed here also show your interest in painting. Tell us about your mediums and how you have evolved with them.
Initially, I started with metal scraps and worked with iron casting and aluminium casting. Later, I started exploring new mediums and, now, I also do painting with watercolours, wood carving and bronze casting. I am also practising acrylic and oil colour. I am exploring photography in a larger way.
Earlier, I never thought about wall art, so I now do that as well. I also want to explore digital art. So I am exploring unlimited mediums.
Not all your artworks have labels. Can you throw more light on the idea behind this inconsistency?
When I create, I create with energy, with emotions. Of course, the subject has to be significant and central but by putting a single name, I make it one-dimensional, which I don’t want to. I am not familiar with terms and titles so I label some and don’t label others. It completely depends on my mood. Also most importantly, I feel that the given title is not the viewer’s title. They come from different educational backgrounds, different sectors, and different exposures, and I don’t want to bottle them, rather I want it to have an open-ended interaction with the viewer.
Your art has its uniqueness and you follow your heart and mind. Have any artists inspired you?
Nobody’s work influenced my work. Every day when I practise, a new world opens up, I’m constantly decoding my mind, I’m decoding my emotions. Ideas can germinate from anywhere. Most of the time it happens organically. I want to play with scale and size. However, there are a few people whose work I really admire. I am fond of British Indian sculptor Anish Kapoor. Among Indian artists, I appreciate Subodh Gupta, I always look up to Ganesh Pyne, I love his inner world. I have evolved immensely. I discovered a new me when I started travelling abroad. Art breaks barriers. So I’m very brave nowadays when I can do instrumental work, I can do things without thinking much about what people will think of me. This I have learnt from the many brave people I have come across in my life who have conquered the world.
We are eagerly waiting for your next project. When can we expect something new from you?
I am working on something that will make you experience Narayan Sinha on a larger scale. Since I am under contract I won’t be able to share details at this point. All you will have to do is wait for two years.