Growing up with Benode Behari Mukherjee and Leela Mukherjee will definitely sensitize one to the limitless potential of art. And if they are your parents then rest assured, for your creative faculties would always be in motion. This was the case with the Indian sculptor Mrinalini Mukherjee. Despite being surrounded by two trailblazing art figures, she carved out her own space.
She studied at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. She soon found herself under the tutelage of KG Subramanyan while completing her diploma. She had a fruitful career spanning four decades. Her work is a requisite at Amsterdam (Stedelijk Museum), London (Tate Modern), New York (The Metropolitan Museum of Art), and Oxford (Museum of Modern Art) to name a few. She passed away aged 65, before the debut of her 2015 retrospective show at the National Gallery of Modern Art, Delhi.
Mrinalini Mukherjee Artwork Themes and Motifs
Although Mrinalini Mukherjee graduated in painting, she fell in love with the grandeur of sculpting. While traditional sculptures are made of metals or stones, she tried a new approach, using dyed and woven hemp fibres, which she found easy to manoeuvre and craft into the sinews of humans. Her contemporaries had either delved into the traditional roots or modern abstract. However, Mukherjee’s work is neither of the two. Although one may detect the effigies or the themes of her oeuvre quite quickly, one will be perplexed by the sheer subtext.
Since the time Mrinalini Mukherjee took her first steps as an independent artist, she never put her designs on paper. She also ‘knotted’ extensively, applying the ancient Islamic weaving technique, macramé. Her time with Subramanyan influenced the choice of materials to create a unique visual language. The use of mundane yet unconventional objects – ropes, cow dung, and hemp fibre to create sculptures is nothing short of extraordinary. The use of these materials binds her to the local artisanal roots.
Deities
As the name suggests, Mrinalini Mukherjee’s Deities series is a testament to the rich mythology and artisanal value. Her monumental sculptures remind us of a deity’s idol. Despite using ‘sann’ or ‘sunn’ (a natural fibre), they almost look like wearable royal garments. The wheat colour of the natural rope is let go in favour of majestic hues of black, purple, turquoise, and more. The omnipresence of plaited and knotted ropes throughout her collection indicates the hours of work she put in to realize her vision.
Despite presenting recognizable iconographies through this collection, it has undertones of personal narratives. These ‘costumes’ evoke the imagery of Kathakali and Theyyam performances. To her admission, the sculptures denote her time at Santiniketan; the alma mater of her parents; a haven for festivities, art, crafts, murals, and traditions long forgotten.
Palm Scapes
Around the late 1990s – early 2000s, she started experimenting with bronze and ceramics. The new collection beautifully represented the trademark Mrinalini Mukherjee sculpture in bronze. Her work often carries the sinewy curves and ‘Palm Scapes’ is no different. Her series is a succinct representation of organic life (flora and fauna) and their growth. Coming from the world of fabric, bronze was a hard material to mould, but not for Mrinalini Mukherjee.
The bronze sculptures are steered into vivid shapes defying the laws of physics. They look almost monstrous yet have an innate earthly beauty to them. One wonders whether they are the torments of the past or the mechanics of the future. Just like her previous marvels, these new sculptures are complex and meticulously detailed.
Photo Courtesy – Courtesy – Mrinalini Mukherjee Foundation
