Arty twist to figurines

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Curators Preeti Singh and Kavita Maheshwari intended to organise a jewellery exhibition and were trying to come up with an innovative idea to display the creations by Anshika Goyal. One fine day they came across an art mannequin done by Nafisa Ali.

“We found the mannequin really interesting and instantly we thought of showcasing the jewellery with these mannequins as props. And the idea turned out to be a great fusion,” says Kavita talking about her exhibition, Gold - E - Locks.
Artist Sanjay Bhattacharya, who is participating in the exhibition, has painted a mannequin for the first time. He says switching from a plain canvas to a three dimensional figure was a new experience for him. “It gave me a new perspective to look at art. In the particular mannequin that I painted the texture and colour of the fibre-glass base blended very well with my idea. I have left certain portions on the mannequin blank to add an extra effect,” says Bhattacharya, who thinks there are certain difficulties involved in painting a three dimensional surface. “One should be clear about the idea in something like a mannequin, in which the colours should blend well in the areas near the joints,” he adds.
Even artist Himadi Bhattacharya, who has been doing mannequin art from last two years, thinks that an artist has to be very careful while making a mannequin his canvas. “After all, a mannequin is the representation of a human body. A slight error can make the art look vulgar rather than artistic,” says Himadi.
“In the last two years, I have displayed my mannequin art at three different exhibitions and at all the three exhibitions, the response has been different from different people. I feel the medium has a lot of impact. People try to connect the art and the medium used and thus an artist has to be careful about the sentiments of the viewers,” says Himadi.
However, it is the innovation that interests a lot of people. Artist Anjanna Kuthiala, who would be unveiling one of the art works when the exhibition opens today, says that the idea of trying art on new mediums is really fascinating. She hasn’t tried painting a mannequin, but has had an experience in painting furniture and knows the challenges of painting an object.
“But art is all about innovation. The more one experiments with forms and mediums, the better it gets,” says Kuthiala, who thinks amalgamating art with fashion is a great way to take former to the masses.
The exhibition will be on display today at Le Meridian Hotel, Cannaught Place at 3 pm