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Artist Statement: “I always contemplate whether I should call my work a piece of sculpture or a pot. I have not answered this question yet.”
In my creative process, I maintain a close and intimate connection with the clay, fostering a unique dialogue between myself and the material. I strive to infuse my work with a sense of dance and song, allowing the clay’s subtle cues to guide my hands in crafting free-flowing, organic, and abstract human-like forms. Throughout this journey, I prioritise the clay’s needs above my own.
My artistic practice harmoniously navigates the realms of drawing and sculpting. These two facets of my work inform and enrich each other, providing a dynamic exchange of ideas. Through drawing, I capture the raw, immediate emotions coursing through me at the moment, which I later translate into the medium of clay. Unlike the fluidity of clay, my control over pen or pencil lines in drawing offers a more introspective exploration of my emotions, shaping them into a 2D form.
Emotions, intangible and invisible, are like elusive bubbles within us. To render these feelings into form, I present my pieces, each a manifestation of these intangible emotions, taking on non-human yet human-like forms, bursting, bubbling and bulging bags of emotion. Following the construction of my sculptures, I return to drawing, taking inspiration from my 2d practice and translating them into surface design. As I apply lines to the undulating forms, I engage in self-therapisation by talking to myself throughout the process, solidifying the act of giving tangibility and form to my emotions.
Since my relocation to Dharamkot, my creative wellspring has been profoundly influenced by the immediacy of my surroundings. The awe-inspiring natural beauty that envelops every facet of life here has left an indelible mark on my artistic decisions. I’ve learned to listen to the sound of silence, to embrace the ever-changing scenery, and to be captivated by the interplay of the sun, moon, and clouds.
I aspire to capture the softness of moonlight and the shifting air within my sculptures. Their hollowness mirrors the existence that is simultaneously present and absent, akin to the duality of sound and silence, dark and light, the sun and the moon that I’ve encountered here. My work seeks to reflect the composite of every moment I’ve ever lived, shaped by my experiences in this mountainous terrain, which has been a transformative chapter in my artistic journey.
Continually blending my inner dialogue with the conversation that comes from my chosen mediums along with the changing visual impact of the surrounding environment all feed into my methods of making, pushing and challenging me to make more and more pieces digging deeper within myself.
Bio: I am Ishita Nagar, born and brought up in Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. I have done BFA from Kurukshetra University, in sculpture. And for further studies, I went to Banaras Hindu University, where I did an MFA in sculpture. After completing my master’s degree, I went to Bharat Bhawan in Bhopal, where I practised ceramics for almost one and a half years. This year in February I joined the Dharamkot studio as a pottery instructor. Here I got to teach and continue my practice of ceramic.
I have exhibited my work at –
- Art Mart- Khajuraho festival by Madhya Pradesh government – 2022
- 21/21- Group show at Ka gallery VaranasI
- Art Mart – Khajuraho festival by Madhya Pradesh government – 2021
- 3rd All India Contemporary Art Exhibition – 2018 Organised by Anand Art Mission
- 8th all India women artist contemporary art exhibition 2017
- Artscapes 11th All India Contemporary Art Exhibition 2017 Organised by DPS, Haridwar
- Tone in Stone-Dapoli sculpture camp organised by Jaipur art Summit