29 November,2011 07:11 AM IST | | Dhara Vora
No, we don't want to spoil the upcoming festive cheer but Simit Raveshia's exhibition, The Calculus of the Dead Load, does portray a sombre mood. The sculptures display the human race's disregard for the nature and what it is leading to
The Calculus of the Dead Load, is an exhibition of eight photographs and sculptors by Simit Raveshia that gives a view of the constant misuse of the environment and the insensitive society that we live in. Raveshia is an architect by profession and has previously participated in two group exhibitions. The artist-architect draws inspiration from his profession as well as the state of affairs around him.
Titled Within and Without, the installation, made using 108 concrete orbs
and barb wires is a metaphor for consumerism. The 108 orbs represent
various human desires and the barb wire is symbolic of a mode of
defence and offence that the city has built around itself
Raveshia cites Mumbai's example to explain the concept behind his works. He believes that under the fa ade of glitz, high-rises and money, we will see the decay that the country is headed towards. Take an architect's word for it. "In architecture, we use the term Dead Load to describe all the inanimate objects such as the furniture that would add to the main load of a structure. The Calculus of the Dead Load means calculating the emotions and the human psyche (which has become inanimate) behind all the show of materialistic progress," says Raveshia describing his works.u00a0
The Fossil, with the soon-to-be-extinct human heart etched on it
Take for example, Scopophilia, an installation of two gold coloured dice measuring one square foot by one square foot set in glass boxes. The installation represents the society's constant obsession with gold and its ever-increasing prices. The size of the cube represents the unabashed real estate boom in the city and the constant rise of the per square foot prices. Most of all, the dice represents the gambler and as Raveshia puts it, "the satta and gambling that the city indulges in, daily."
Another interesting installation that beckons you to linger on for a few moments is The Fossil. Raveshia has carved the shape of a human heart on a butcher's wooden block. He says that when a fossil is found it is dissected and its physical form is examined but what remains unseen is the emotional outburst trapped within the fossil. Raveshia attempts to bring his 'fossil' to life by giving it various sounds such as laughter, prayer and
the sound of a child. A stethoscope attached to the wooden block helps one hear the voices. Essentially, the artist is trying to show man's emotional evolution.
Raveshia's lenticular images (an image that appears different according to the angle from which it is seen) are startling. His observations give a clear picture of our disregard for nature. If you see the image from an angle, you can see an aerial image of the Deonar dumping ground. "If you look at it closely, it looks like a radiological image of a diseased human brain," says the artist.
He has created a similar piece with the image of the mangroves at Versova that are in great danger because of various reclamation activities. When one looks at this image from another angle, one can see that it takes the shape of diseased lungs, which is what its state represents.u00a0 It's evident from his works that Raveshia is at his best while playing with perspectives. Expect to be pleasantly surprised at this exhibition.u00a0u00a0
Till: December 18, 10 am to 6 pm
At: The Loft, Mathuradas Mills Compound, Tulsi Pipe Road, Lower Parel.
Call: 30400166
