TEJA GAVANKAR
This body of work explores the concept of space, its possibilities, tensions, and its impact on human perception and emotion. Drawing from my personal experience of inhabiting a new studio, I began to question what it means to “settle” amidst a backdrop of global upheaval. To me, space is not a fixed entity; it is constantly in flux. It can be something we occupy while simultaneously being something that envelops us.
Central to this exploration is the act of creation (घडवणे)—an intentional process that shapes form and function. However, chance (घडण) introduces elements of surprise that lie outside the maker’s control. From the flowing lines found in skies and rivers to the solid pillars, corners, and architecture around us, structures embody the interplay between organic and built environments. These are not fixed boundaries but places of ongoing negotiation where identity and memory intersect. This dynamic is reflected in the practice of making and unmaking, showcasing the fluid nature of space.
The inspiration behind this work is the space between the two pillars. The ‘pillar’ here is not just as an architectural form but also as a transitory space that allows one to move fearlessly. It is a freestanding element that gives strength and allows it to transmit the weight of the construction above it to other structures. While one cannot see this space, it is also the most trustworthy.The space between the two pillars led to think about how space exists within a space just as a (fearless) mind exists within a body. The work titled Pillar/Column 01 is an 8-foot-high sculpture, connecting it with the scale of an existing pillar, the existence of which is indisputable, yet its nature and consequence allow us to explore the relationship between mind and body. In this life-size sculpture, one sees, how the space from one end reduces and at the same time becomes monumental from the other end, giving it a sense of consistency and continuity. As one moves closer to the sculpture, this new state makes one wonder about the infinite and endless possibilities within a defined closure. This state further envelopes the mind within the constructive body, that has emerged to be mostly free from it. The beauty of freedom in limitation.
The work titled 'neti-neti,' is a part of the Indian Ceramic Triennale 2024 in Delhi. This artwork embodies the concept of negating identity with the phrase "not this, not that" or "neither this nor that." It takes the form of two cones that partially merge into each other, sharing common elements that shift between them, creating a dynamic and ever-changing experience for viewers. This interaction between the cones symbolizes the duality of completeness and incompleteness, ultimately converging to represent the philosophical idea of Advaita, where the material world transcends into the realm of eternity. This work delves into the profound concept of 'neti-neti,' leading viewers to a realization of unity within the infinite expanse of space. This is the very first time I have used a motion / electronic system in my work with the technical help of Vishhal Kadam, my partner. It is participatory work where the viewer engages with the work and interacts with it. The people are both the doer and experiencer, like the idea of Advaita.
Passing By
Between place and space
We have space and place always as basic elements around us.
We tend to advise someone by entering his/her space.
And a place remains firm for certain things as they emerge there.
We built spaces, we live in a space, and would like to see ourselves in one place.
The place is certain and space is infinite.
What holds in-between space-&-place, a place is where things get hold, and space is too abstract/ a formless body.
By walking between two pillars, what does it hold? A fearless movement of passing.
As the space allows movement and place hold it. Both go hand in hand but both are contrasting.
Is there anything in-between them?
The form of ‘becoming’ holds movement but it is stable.
‘passing by’ holds two series of works which talks about a kind of movement and wanted to give a ‘form’ to the movement. Big work in corten steel is called ‘pillar’ and the pillar is about taking a load to have fearless movement. This sculpture and its form talk about the space which holds between the two pillars. the form you see is inverted and out-verted at both ends.
Two other corten steel works are about steps/ stairs and there is a kind of movement happening while one is moving from level 1 to level 2, growth is a movement and it varies from person to person.
It is overall about what happens in the process of ‘becoming’. Thus the conical series came into practice. Both the brickwork and golden works has conical body and it questions the structure of the ‘growth’.
Masonry steps ascend clockwise and traditional staircases move anti-clockwise, Teja’s suite of steps in this exhibition ‘ascend’ in not either direction. Teja is interested in ‘the step’ as an architectural form but also doubly interested in dismantling this form, which has come to represent linear progression and ‘growth’ through time and space. And so we have what could be an intensely torqued flight of stairs, or a winners podium that has been supremely scrambled to undo the numbers game, and other such similarly defiant Untitled entities.
In the materiality of weathering (Corten) steel, Teja finds an on point accomplice for the pursuit of her interest. Weathering steel pre-empts nature’s rusting process, and through a layer of stable rust protects it from further corrosion. On the implications of such a process Teja says, “It is interesting to be able to begin with and maintain the material's rusted form and also accept the ‘natural’ behaviour of the material in relation to the environment.”
Teja’s father was a goldsmith, and die maker. During the course of a bout of lockdown cleaning, Teja went through his entire collection of ‘dies’ and decided on using them as a reference. “The brass cast steps in particular look like dies because of the black oxidisation they have undergone,” she adds.
MC Escher of impossible stairs and other mind boggling structures, was another point of reference. Escher visited Alhambra Palace, Spain in 1922 and 1936. Islamic geometry and architecture found in the Iberian peninsula entered his work in particular through the art of tessellation of which there is plenty at Alhambra, and instances of which can also be found in Mughal monuments in India including the Fatehpur Sikri. A tessellation is created when a shape is repeated over and over again covering an entire plane without any gaps or overlaps.
Text by Gitanjali Dang (curator – In The Light Of at Gallery Ark.
https://theark.in/new-exhibition/in-the-light-of/
More information on In the Light Of exhibition at Gallery Ark , Vadodara. (Feb-May 2021)
: exhibition images
India Art Fair 22 at the Sakshi Gallery
Series: Khorā
9 stainless steel spheres as one set like a planetary system.