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RAKHEE KANE'S SURREAL WALL

Uma Nair

Standing on the small grassy plot next to the gallery walls at the Jawahar Kala Kendra, Jaipur, viewers could gaze at the surreal designs made by sunlight on Rakhee Kane's ceramic wall with metal, and rammed earth wall in raw multi coloured clay. Pondicherry dweller Kane creates a seamless 3 dimensional double panel with large circular holes that act as a sieve to filter the sun's rays that seem to flirt with the apertures.

Repetition of patterns

On the two panels it is the design dictates with repetition of patterns that points to a sequence of surreal juxtapositions under the natural skylight.

The beauty of the concept is the hallmark that panels that can be integrated together in many different ways to create totally unique sculpted walls and that is what makes this installation a stand alone creation. The flat and formulated designs make it possible to create a seamless sculptural wall where the designs flow and change across the surface just as in nature according to the inclination of the sun. As a consequence, the two panels are not identical, they offer myriad options in the unveiling of mass and materials.

Tribute to the Jali

"This installation is a tribute to several of these elements of the Jali form, through a series of three dimensional studies in the medium of fired and unfired clay, through various processes of high temperature firing and glazes," says Kane.

"It is an exploration to celebrate versatility of a form that is synonymous with interconnectedness, unity and transparency. Its quality of enclosure while being connected with the other side, its play with light, form and ability to evoke one's emotions and associations with the past to bring in elements of nature within a dwelling. It is essentially a play of aesthetics created by filtering and bouncing of light, created by exploring Jali form along with a Rammed Earth Wall, around which the installation is created."

Rakhee says in the context of this venue, (designed by Charles Correa) which itself is a monumental work of architecture that celebrates the spirit of the land and the play of light, this installation is a reflection of how traditional architecture and elements can inspire contemporary expressions in architecture and art.

Magic of materials

Rakhee is a magician with materials, she is concerned with the making of ceramic ware and the nature of materials she uses while having a strong affinity towards the manifestations of firing and glazing.

In her two panels and single wall we can discern an enthusiasm for the symbolic manifestations that are inherent within materials and how a ceramic sculpture can actually aid in all types of the aesthetic communication.

After having created stunning platters, landscapes as well as tower like totems, Rakhee's veering into the expanded terrain known as "installations"reveals that she has a distinctlyaesthetic approach which includes the traditional techniques of modelling, coaxing and casting her mosaic of panels even as she weaves in radical forms of assemblage.

Astonishing vocabulary

Throughout her creation of the three wall panels run the threads of coherent contexts as well as an astonishing vocabularyof formal attributes in design. So we as viewers, are offered possibilities when encountering her creation: in these two panels – there is history, concrete manifestations of the real and ephemeral expressions of evocation, and the drama of silhouettes. Then within the building of organic substance we discern a passion for ingredients and firing processes with oxidation origins. Kane fires at 1300 degrees centigrade in a wood kiln and used Shino glaze for this stupendous installation.

As the refractive index of sunlight splits into levels that create different perceptions of depth, there is a creation of rhythms on the walls with a pleasant natural effect. Fruit of the sophisticated "tile repetition " technique there is a graphic density to the wall panels, and a deepened understanding of cubism and tactile and powerful material rendering. The metal and the ceramic walls are constructed from a series of pre-cast panels that are bonded to the substrate. The panel joints are then filled and sanded and the absence of decoration creates an aura of traditional hand sculpted designs that fit together with total accuracy yet retain the essence of being hand crafted. At the Jawahar Kala Kendra Shifting Identities as an installation is a lesson in the natural finish of form because excessive decoration eclipses materials and takes away from the edifice of design and sculptural formalism.

CONTINENTAL DRIFT

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