Meet The South Asian Artists Creating Sculptural Poetry Through Their Designs

The human mind loves patterns. The outermost layer of our brain called the neocortex, is exclusive to mammals and is responsible for pattern recognition. We've always depended on this ability for assessing danger and deriving purpose, like Neil deGrasse Tyson said, "Over centuries of evolution, humans’ pattern recognition skills determined natural selection. Hunters skilled at spotting prey and predator and telling poisonous plants from healthy ones offered them a better chance of survival than those blind to the patterns. It enabled the survivors to pass on those pattern-friendly genes to future generations."

Our ability to recognize and interpret patterns now help us create and understand art and meaning. Every great piece of art that has had a major influence on people is always open to interpretation because it honours that neocortex in our heads that can comprehend ideas on its own without any references. All great films have embodied this too. If you look at the chronology of art movements, you'll find another pattern of how we went from Realism, all the way to Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism and eventually Abstract Expressionism. It's like we evolved from the obvious to the imaginary as we moved through time. We're still stimulated by interpretive art and abstract concepts because we like our imaginations.

Playing on the same quintessentially human function, here's a list of sculptors that create interpertive forms speaking to a primal part of us that enjoys patterns.

Pooja Pawaskar

Based in Canada, Pooja Pawaskar is the Indian-born artist behind the brand, Whirl & Whittle. Crafting wooden and ceramic pieces which celebrate the inherent beauty in each object’s peculiarities, Pooja chooses to embrace blemish in her works and herself in a world which relies heavily on flawlessness. Her work is grounded in the belief that the world around us and the things within it are unique rather than imperfect. Pooja is a student of the Wabi-Sabi principles that finds beauty and serenity in objects, landscapes, designs, etc. that are simple, imperfect, and impermanent.

Check out her creations here.

Abid Javed

Abid Javed is a ceramic artist, creating collectible ‘molecular objects’, using clay. With a background in Molecular Biology, his collections bring in the unseen world to the forefront using Biomorphism. He explores subjects like cells, and molecules, together with arabic script and geometry. All objects are hand-built, encompassing pinch, coil, and slab methods. Working in a range of clay, each piece is carefully crafted to bring a piece to life with an emphasis on form and the clay body. Therefore, each piece is a labour of love. Abid's exploration continues through a series of sculptures and vessels.

Follow his work here.

Athena Jahantigh

Athena is an Iranian sculptor who now lives in France. Her animal sculptures are made of sandstone or porcelain that carry on their arched backs the iconographic heritage linking them to the parietal art of his native Persia, an inspiration both emotional and nostalgic, but which marries to perfection with her other great formal source of inspiration, the cave painting. They are contemporary sculptures with deep roots, entirely modeled by hand. Acclaimed French ceramic artist, Niegel Atkins called her pieces, "...little marvels of hieratic and callipygous animals with strong and sensual forms, and a particularly modern sculptural presence."

Check our her work here.

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