Jayaprakash comes from a family of potters. For the last few generations, they’ve depended on their kiln for livelihood. Going a step further, his family has also assisted artists specialising in sculptures at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University. Jayaprakash was good at his craft but not a trained artist. Watching experienced artists at work, he too wanted to transform his craft into an art form.
‘Diva Divine Deified’ is his first solo exhibition, featuring his sculptures in terracotta, fibre glass, ceramic and papier-mâché. The artist’s muse is the Goddess. He doesn’t name the Goddess or the female form in his sculptures as Durga or Parvati in her varied avatars but it’s evident when you see the terracotta faces reminiscent of Kali.
In the ceramic, papier-mâché and fibreglass works, the deity is sculpted on the lines of African sculptures.
The series of nearly 40 sculptures present the face of the Goddess with different expressions. We see her serene with closed eyes, with wide eyes in fury and head thrown back in another. The ornamentation doesn’t come from earrings and jewellery, but in the form of head gears. He uses single tones for a few fibreglass pieces and uses a mix of colours to give an abstract finish to some of the ceramic pieces, made with ceramics sourced from Bhadravathy. A four-foot tall fibreglass sculpture is a labour of love that speaks of the artist’s faculty. In this, he sculpts the mangalsutra and again uses a turban-like headgear to make the piece look distinct. The exhibition ‘Diva Divine Deified’ featuring sculptures by Jayaprakash will be on view at Iconart Gallery, Road no. 12, Banjara Hills, till January 31.
