About The Work

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Courtesy of Round Them Oranges, Jaipur

 

The works in the Atoll series are a constellation resembling coral reef structures, born from discarded and found materials, where each piece embodies a tender interplay of fragility and resilience. These works take the remnants of human existence and transform them into coral- like formations that evoke the beauty and vulnerability of marine ecosystems. They form a sanctuary-like space, inviting contemplation on our role in cycles of creation, destruction, and renewal.

 

Recognizable elements of everyday waste are transformed, as man-made and organic forms blend into something both familiar and alien. The works consider the precise balance these ecosystems maintain and mankind’s role as a disruptor in these precarious seascapes. The hybrid corals seek to find beauty in the discarded and the possibility of hope and healing even when all seems lost. Human intervention, through restoration projects and sustainable practices, is proving that corals can come back to life, this hope runs through the heart of the works.

 

Shola, a material harvested from the pith of mangrove weeds in Bengal with a thermocol-like texture, becomes a stand-in for bleached corals, a clear visual indicator of a problem that often seems abstract. Traditionally used to embellish sacred statues, wedding headgear, and festive decor, the Shola used in the Atoll works represents the opposite of celebration: mourning. At the intersection of industrial and ecological narratives, the Atoll works stand as a space where loss gives way to possibility. It embodies the hope that balance can be restored, that the forsaken can be reborn, and that a better tomorrow is still within reach.