Aryan Nandakishor Patil is an artist whose practice dug deep into the rough soil of our social issues rooted in labor rights and social inequality somewhere out of Indian traditional temple architecture. His inspiration also comes from the dwarf figures often represented in Indian temples that are depicted as holding beams, platforms, etc. Although these characters appear playfully and adorably, their symbolism is heavier, because they symbolise the misfits in society. So, through this symbolism, Patil delves into the history, economics and sociology that conjoin with the working class in India.
Patil’s dwarf figures become metaphors for the burdens of lower castes, who for centuries were assigned the most menial, physically demanding jobs. Just as those temple carvings buttress the divine or cosmic order, the labouring classes of modern India also continue to bear the weight of the edifice even as society has changed. Looking at these ancient images through the lens of the present day, Patil asks, how can we reconcile the glorified, symbolic depictions of these figures with the realities of life for labourers today?
In his sculptures, Patil captures the tension between aesthetics and the often grim world of those who silently labour, for the most part, unrecognised and unheard. He reminds people of the intergenerational struggles of the ‘othered’ which don’t always find enough representation in contemporary art, bridging space and time with a shared symbolism of burden and resilience.
Feature Image: Fortitude by Aryan Nandakishor Patil features a red, dripping figure seated on a traditional base, juxtaposed with a black-and-white portrait of the artist standing amidst a bamboo structure.| Courtesy: Abir Space
Iftikar Ahmed is a New Delhi-based art writer & researcher.
