Nature Morte Presents ‘Daylight in Stero & Other Adventures in Movement’
The ongoing exhibition at Nature Morte features the works of sculptor and sound artist, Navin Thomas. Titled ‘Daylight in Stereo & Other Adventures in Movement,’ the exhibition will be on view till Sunday, October 13th 2024 (11 AM to 7 PM). Thomas, known for his experimental integration of acoustics and ecology, offers a unique exploration of soundscapes, improvisation, and material through this solo exhibition. His new works are deeply rooted in his fascination with sound, presenting an interplay of space and structure that challenges the boundaries of traditional art forms.
With both tactile and auditory works, this exhibition offers a multi-sensory experience, transforming the gallery into an evolving landscape of sound and light. Thomas takes his inspiration from music, thinking about improvisation and timing, and how these qualities can be expressed in concrete objects.
Thomas speaks of his artistry, “I started to think about music as a landscape, as a playground, a left and a right, lots of highs and then soft lows, long pauses and rearrangements, commas, hyphens, brackets, periods, and exclamation marks. Pauses are important. You begin to listen to the atmosphere of spaces, sometimes delightful and sometimes engaging, and then sometimes just quiet and resonating.”
The exhibition is composed of multiple series of works, composed mostly of wood with other added materials. One series, ‘Study of Jogger’s Lanes,’ is interactive and musical. Exploiting the variegated colors of different types of wood, these are fused together using precise marquetry techniques, becoming complex hieroglyphics. These structures disguise the simple mechanisms of old-fashioned music boxes, with multiples inside of each piece. The keys to the music boxes are scattered across the face of the construction, allowing the viewer to activate one or all of the devices. The aural result can be a soothing nostalgic lilt or something akin to the sounds of a madhouse.
Another series of works, ‘Study of Daylight in Phases,’ consists of rectilinear lattices in different configurations, each in a pair of complementary colors, their structures diffused by the play of shadows across their surfaces and backdrops of colored acrylic sheets. ‘Fictional Symphony Halls’ is the title of a group of architectonic models, propped up on stilt-like legs. Complex and kinetic, each is its own folly, suggesting a theater or a temple, a spaceship or a birdhouse. A final untitled series is of four works that resemble unfolding frames, or perhaps windows or the easels for paintings. These complex shapes contain cryptic pictograms: birds, mountains, lungs, yardsticks, and a sprinkling of eyes.
Thomas adds, “Earlier as part of my practice I liked to observe what a city discarded and try to make more sense of it through my work which led me to the idea of acoustic ecology and its relationship in built architecture and the way it constantly moves away and re-represents itself from the old formal ways of the landscape as a stage.”
About Navin Thomas
Navin Thomas (born 1974) is a sculptor and sound artist, working predominantly with mixed media and found materials. He was educated in cinematography and graphic design, and now experiments with acoustics, integrating sounds of ecology and built architecture. Steering away from activism, his approach to art-making involves a reinterpretation of the traditional notions of the natural world and its ever changing landscapes. Navin Thomas has exhibited his work in New Delhi, Germany, Warsaw, and Kochi.
Image Courtesy – Nature Morte
