Tsuktiben Jamir
The function of art is more than often to reframe something that has been seen a thousand times but to alter the viewer’s perspective on it. Art can be used as a way to portray how to reuse unwanted items that are deemed as trash. In an attempt to join the collective effort of saving the environment as well as beautifying the city, Delhi’s MCD has started a project to install sculptures completely made out of waste in public spaces.
The corporation issued a request for proposals for the creation of 47 different types of sculptures and murals that would be categorised into seven different themes centred on Indian music, art, and culture. According to Hindustan Times, a senior municipal official of the corporation these installations will be created using waste material gathered from 43 municipal yards and stores. They will be both two- and three-dimensional figures with heights ranging from six to eight feet.
The MCD will commission the sculptures through the rate contact system, which is expected to cost up to Rs 5 crore and take up to 12 months to finish. The senior official also stated that Delhi residents would be able to witness the final results by next year. According to the Horticulture Department’s report, the installations will revolve around seven themes, which will include folk dances, Indian classical dances, sages, scientists, sages, and musical instruments, among many others. The senior corporation official said, “For the classical dances, there will be eight two-dimensional mural structures, 7 feet high and half feet wide. These panels will educate people about the artforms like Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam, Kuchipudi, Manipuri, and Odissi.”
This will not be the end of this venture. In fact, another series is already in motion. In the second series, we can expect dance styles including Dandiya, Bhangra, Kalebelia, Garba, Koli, Lavaani, Ghoomar, and Kumauni, among others. These sculptors will imitate the hand motions and mudras of these dance forms, seen at the Delhi airport’s immigration station, and they will stand six feet deep and ten feet tall. In addition, each of these sculptures will be set up on brick platforms that are embellished with marbles and details of the dance forms.
Another series on the 14 Indian sages and scientists, including Aryabhatta, Baudhayan, Patanjali, Nagaarjuna, Shushruta, and Bhaskaracharya is under development. According to a senior municipal official, the sculptures will be displayed at relevant themed sites, which are yet to be determined. The largest artwork in the project will feature a winged horse portraying a jumping unicorn; it will be 10 feet high and 12.6 feet wide. It will be complemented by panels marketing India as a growing unicorn destination. The term “unicorn companies” refers to business companies with a market capital of $1 billion or more that are also driving prosperous digital startups. 115 unicorn enterprises in India have a combined worth of more than $350 billion.
It goes without saying that the MCD’s initiative to combat environmental pollution while enhancing the city’s aesthetics is a brilliant idea.
