Artist and curator Shirley Mathew on bringing a sustainable art showcase to Bengaluru

We are getting out of our comfort zone, pushing boundaries and unlearning what we have already learned. This is experimental work and sustainable. Kapila Nahender is using crushed stones to get pigments out of them along with other natural materials. Umesh Prasad sources e-waste and uses it to create futuristic works. I have created pigments from the kitchen, like turmeric, beetroot, red wine, coffee, etc, as a base. My works are more about how nature is struggling to survive in our urban scenario. I’ve used charcoal. I have also created a mural from pieces which I got from the waste of a 100-yearold heritage home, where I used to have a studio. It’s called Urban Storyboard. For this, the tar is mounted on jute, which is in turn mounted on a recycled wooden board.

For us, there was a concern in between, as to how long these artworks would last. So, I even contacted someone from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). I also contacted a conservationist. Some pieces I’ve covered with glass and put them in silica gel.

I’ve asked the artists to write their process. Otherwise, we were explaining the process. This time, however, they have plenty to read. So, each ar tist’s process is explained and then one can further ask questions.