Negotiating the Sacred and Profane

Arun Kumar brings in Neo-Pop sensibilities in his art practice and uses ready-made objects such as toys, carpets, plastic, ceramics, television monitors, cow dung and hay and also displays a high degree of skill in the sculpted images, says Amrita Gupta- Singh.

Social definitions in contemporary society revolve around consumption, its patterns and effects. Within this is the dynamics to influence/control such consumption patterns by the privileged, while the non-privileged can only dream. This leads to a tremendous waste within this system and irreparable class disparities. Indians today are engaged in forms of consumption, recreation and entertainment that resemble cultural forms in other parts of the world. Apart from urban areas, the penetration of the countryside by voracious media and advertising forces is inescapable, and the general commoditization of cultural objects is all part of this process.

In his new exhibition, titled, Feed, which was presented at the Sakshi Art Gallery, Mumbai, Arun Kumar H.G. a visual artist based in Delhi, deals with such concerns of production and consumption. Trained as a sculptor from M.S. University of Baroda, he has worked in various other disciplines, including photography and toy design which impacts his aesthetics and art practice. This eclectic approach towards medium allows Kumar to articulate his ideas through remarkable layered meanings.

'the other' - : digital photograph on archival paper, astroturf - 32" x 48" x 4"

The concept of Feed was developed at a World Social Forum workshop, titled ‘World@Hunger’, in Brazil 2005.The interconnections of hunger and the act of feeding within the socio-economic scenario negotiate the various metaphors used by the artist, of workers and animals trapped in the maze of impositions of a capitalist society and the endless flow of information through the media. The term “Feed” here has a latent violent implication, where citizens are force-fed by various forces, without a choice.

Arunkumar hails from the farming community and a recurrent symbol in this exhibition is of the bull in its agrarian/common mass associations or Nandi in its sacred/profane aspects. The artist questions how the Indian nation-state has treated this animal and the agricultural working class, in its pursuance of modernity and industrialization. In the photographic medium, Arunkumar uses the metaphor of bulls and horses in pairs, or halved into two, feeding on urban waste in dumping grounds. Double images of urban workers, feed on their lunches in common, nondescript spaces of the city, their gestures monotonous. The most engaging sculptural work, titled, “Feed” has young bulls (the rural youth?), feeding on live cable television, the media seducing in all its variations.

The sacred image of Nandi is found across temples, particularly in South India. Arunkumar places “Nandi” on a pedestal of polythene (industrial), sculpted with straw (natural) the polarities defined in the material itself. “Processor” turns Nandi into an apparatus for food production. Another profound work, “The Meal”, is that of a dining table installation with printed images of workers hands, farmers tilling their lands, which points out to the labour and sources of the foods that we consume, a strong comment on the apathy of the privileged, who often take their resources for granted. Other works, such as “Input Output” explore how science and technology often transform natural organisms, here the poultry industry, to constantly produce and feed our consumerist society. “Offspring” is a personal comment on how Arunkumar’s own children, being fed by numerous animal cartoon characters in the media, are disengaged from the animals’ natural contexts.

Kumar brings in Neo-Pop sensibilities in his art practice and uses ready-made objects such as toys, carpets, plastic, ceramics, television monitors, cow dung and hay and also displays a high degree of skill in the sculpted images. In the interplay of playful/absurd imagery and serious concerns, Kumar articulates a language that might appear dense to the viewer, for the layered associations become clear through conversations with the artist. But once the subtexts interconnect, an irony that underlines the fragility of the human condition emerges. Arun Kumar makes a powerful and coherent critique, opening out the possibilities of the socially transformative role of art.