15 February,2011 09:33 AM IST | | Sheena Thomas
The man, who started making sculptures with scrap, has now come a long way. His latest laser exhibition, Micropolis, showing at the Museum Art Gallery, has not only been challenging to execute in terms of skill, but it has also left Arzan Khambatta with cuts and bruises all over. For once, devoid of humour, Arzan's work gives you the sculptor's impressions of a megacity as seen from the sky. The artist chats with CS:
I can't pinpoint what got me started on this show. I guess I am constantly creating, and the process never stops. I'd been wanting to work on laser cut pieces for a long time, but the challenge was to convert the technicalities into aesthetics. And yes, I wanted to achieve a level of technicality that surpassed everything that I had ever done.
Micropolis is an antithesis of my past worksu00a0-- you won't see any funky Freddie Mercury sculptures or humourous woodworks. Even as I say this, I'm thinking of what I would want to do for my next showu00a0-- you can never get done with 25 pieces.
Spaced out
Observation has always played an important role in my worku00a0-- be it the people I see around me or the little howlers that I read on trucks. The figures in my sculptures aren't defined characters like the ones R K Laxman might work with, but they're distant observers, who are as involved or aloof as any of us might be.
I remember, when I was studying architecture, our professors would keep hammering the word 'space' into us, and I could never comprehend its meaning. But one day it dawned on me that space wasn't so much to do with walls or ceilings, but with the atmosphere created by a certain place. For instance, when you're in a cathedral, you automatically become silent. The vibrancy of a nightclub gets you grooving. That's what space does to you. In my ongoing series, I have tried to bring out the micro to the macro connection.
Laser sharp
Working with laser has been a natural progression. When I started my career, scraps were all I could afford. I didn't want to borrow money from my parents so I would go around collecting nuts and bolts and turn them into sculptures. Then I graduated to metals, like steel and copper and tossed in a little wood, to give my work a lyrical touch. There is no denying that I've spent a bomb on this show, but I have thoroughly enjoyed working on it. I'm not scared to experiment. If I was, I would only be limiting my future development.
