Carving stories

From a girl to maturing into a woman, there was one thing that never escaped artist Kiran Dixit Thacker’s mind — to draw and paint. A reflection of this love and dedication can be seen in the various structures on display at the Jehangir Art Gallery. Themed Shradhanjali, this exhibit of bronze sculptors is a homage to her foster father Prof. Dinker Kowshik Da from Kala Bhawan.

It was at school when her teachers of Shantiniketan background encouraged her to pursue art that Kiran decided to go to the same institute. “That very moment, it became my dream. My mother made a pact with me that if she spends on my education she wouldn’t on my marriage. I agreed and came to Shantiniken, took a degree in philosophy and in arts from Kala Bhavan,” recalls the 72-year-old artist.

During her days at Shantiniketan, Kiran drew closer to Ramkinkar Baij, the pioneer of modern Indian sculpture and developed an interest in sculptor. “We would get mud for him, he would carve out different shapes and bodies,” she smiles.

However, soon she got married and moved to London and taught arts and craft to children there, a job she continued for 30 years until her return to India — a decision she made after the demise of her husband and daughter.

“I came back, pursued Masters in Arts from Shantiniketan and then went back to London to do another course in sculpting. Since then there has been no looking back. This is my life; I have never wanted anything else apart from to draw and sculpt,” says the proud artist.

Her professional journey as a sculpturist, which began in 2000, has seen her making over 150 sculptures in bronze, metal, steel and clay. An intent look at her sculptures, be it the dancing figurine of the ladies on the unicycle or the mid-sized animals or the people playing carrom board or the sitting fat man, they  take one to an unknown world wanting to hear their story.

One piece of work — Jol Khela — that Kiran describes vividly is a three-dimensional picture of a fond memory from the days she spent in Shantiniketan. “There were a lot of water bodies and during monsoon, the kids would always jump in the river. I did a carving of it showing kids playing with the water. But when I finished, there were all boys. I sat there and wondered how to make it more interesting and ended up adding six small mermaids. When you look at it, the boys are about to jump and mermaids are sitting around,” she illustrates.

For all her pieces, an ardent student, Kiran has always cherished her tutor’s instructions. Recollecting the lessons taught, the artiste says, “Every time I make a piece, Kinkar da’s picture flashes in front of me. He had once said, ‘if you don’t have the structure in place then forget about shinning and bringing finis to the piece.’ A structure should be built in every piece of a sculptor. I try my best to form a strong structure.”

Further expressing her love for the art form, quoting British sculpturist Henry Moore, the artist describes sculpturing as an art that converges attention from all direction. “An artist has to be aware of all three sides, even the top. It is a conflated form of art. It is neither flat nor is it occupying any space on a canvas, it has to stand on its own and work,” she smiles.

As she continues to capture various life forms,  the artist in her 70s doesn’t want to stop and make up for all those years of not sculpting full-time. “I see women in my age going to the hospitals. With me, I want to work more because I didn’t work for a long period. I don’t call myself a sculpturist. I am a sculpturist in making, I am learning from my mistakes,” smiles Kiran.

From here, her journey will take her to Delhi and Calcutta for exhibitions, and after that Kiran is all set to fly to Italy to learn stone carving.

—Ongoing till 28 January, At Jahangir Art Gallery