Sakshi Gupta

Born 1979 in New Delhi, India Lives and works in New Delhi, India Sakshi Gupta recycles scrap materials, often with industrial origins to produce sculptures that transform the meaning of the materials and provoke spiritual contemplation. Out of the a heavy materiality the formsthat she creates evoke an ephemeral lightness and fragility. and tThrough this engagement with material weight, her works can be seen as commentary on the contemporary world – highlighting the shift from the economics of heavy industry to the weightless age of the information and technology. The spectacular sculpture, Some Beasts, 2008, uses rusty iron to create the form of a suspended ceiling fan that itself resembles a writhing beast, in the process of moulting and shrugging off its skin which cascades to the floor. Its domineering presence above the viewer imposes some of the terror and obeisance ceremonially accorded to both the mythical and religious beasts of traditional culture and the machines of war today. Yet the zoomorphic engendering of a mundane domestic object also evokes vulnerability and weariness, highlighting how exhausting the process of transformation in the modern world is. The artist also draws heavily on her ownpersonal experience. The body of works entitled Nothing is Freedom, Freedom is Everything, Everything is You, 2007, refers to the contradictions faced by young people: the hopes and expectations that don’t are not guaranteed to materialise, the struggles and unexpected joys, as well as annew opportunitiesy to make the personal choices that determine personal destiny, which may not have existed for previous generations. The first piece in this series uses 100 locks, each weighing 2kg, welded together to create a collection of seven pillows. Instead of offering rest, these pillows evoke sleepless nights in a claustrophobic environment. The second work uses nuts, bolts, cogs and bearings arranged in a symmetrical pattern on a horizontal surface suggesting a decorative door – of the type often turned into coffee tables –- or a traditional carpet, representing the highs and lows of life. The third sculpture is figurative a bust made out of bicycle chains which Gupta has noted and represents the artist’sher belief that freedom of choice exists within individuals. Landscape of Waking Memories, 2007, combines wire and mesh with chicken feathers to create an object that at first glance resembles a soft, sensual quilt but on closer inspection, reveals itself to be sharp and unyielding. The artist has commented how ‘the places/people who are supposed to bring ease and comfort in my live themselves become the source of disturbance hence making me lose my sense of security’. The spectacular sculpture, Some Beasts, 2008, uses rusty iron to create the form of a suspended ceiling fan that itself resembles a writhing beast, in the process of moulting and shrugging off its skin to the floor. Its domineering presence above the viewer imposes some of the terror and obeisance ceremonially accorded to both the mythical and religious beasts of traditional society and the machines of war today. Yet the zoomorphic engendering of a mundane domestic object also evokes vulnerability and weariness, highlighting how exhausting the process of transformation in the modern world is. Gupta has also produced external site-specific sculptures outdoors, on during residencies and at the twice-yearly artist’s’ workshop she runs in Rajasthan. Continuing to use the principles of ‘poor art’, her exterior works combine discarded materials from local factories with found materials from nature such as roots, fronds and feathers. The objects she creates are frequently anthropomorphised and evoke deliberate unease and anxiety, to represent the sense of discomfort and conflict that the artist feels in her own life.  Rebecca Morrild

Sakshi Gupta Landscape of Waking Memories, 2007