The Urban Melee

Seven artists created art installations as a part of the Urban Lab at Vidyaranya School, and conceptualised them around welfare within the urban sphere of city life.

The art curated by ICONART gallery’s Avani Rao Gandra, digs satire on environmental pollution, lack of play areas for the child, discomfort and insecurity of women in public spaces, lack of basic infrastructure like clean toilets on street level and urging to go back to earth the natural way .

For the art installation by Avani Rao Gandra on ‘Who Raised the Stink‘, she used different types of mediums like tar, dead fish, plastic and wood.

It is a poetic dig on man, bleeding the earth. The buzz of city life silences the sounds of nature, the floating fish that die of toxins and the song of a hundred year old tree felled in seconds.

The Art Installation by Sweta Chandra titled ‘You or me’ speaks about our lives that are open books of personal choices we make in mundane life.

“My art installation revolves around this simple choice we make in life. I've always found it interesting to explore and play with space, illusion and our existence,” she shared.

For ‘Go Back to Earth’ an art Installation by Farzona Khan, materials like wood and clay were used. He shares “We are made of earth and go back to earth someday.

The ladder represents mans aspirations centered on career, wealth, status. The steps that bring him stress, trauma and anxiety and ill health.

The work raises issues of the purpose of living, the earthen toys and vessels seek a visit to prehistoric art and ancient ways of life and tradition bound living close to nature.”
Speaking about ‘Tree Of Life’ her art installation, Archana Rajguru Biswas says, “With this art work I want to show care for the nature.”

‘A Eye Is on You’ an art installation by Sai Sheela is about how women are harassed in public and private spaces. “I showcased the pain and uneasiness of women through these pieces of clothing that reflected visually by cigarette burns, torn and burnt clothes and retaining certain sensitivity through flowers and gloves,” she shares.

MMS (Multimedia messaging service) an art Installation by P Ravikumar uses wood and mirrors showcase advanced technology to shoot videos discreetly or under pressure tactics and body shaming women through videos and MMS. The artist hopes to sensitise women with the installation.

‘Seal – Conceal’ an art Installation by Pavan Kumar D uses newsprint to put forward the changes in urban life due to technology and life style. “we don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing" – is the primary message of the installation.