Urban chic and a crowded chaos — Sachin George Sebastian’s paper installation at the recent Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week in Delhi had people enraptured as models sashayed down the ramp in Rahul Mishra’s tenuous and tensile creations. As a little punctuation on the ramp, there was a heady installation of architectural forms created out of archival papers, a pair of scissors and an ingenious mind. For the National Institute of Design trained designer and artist, this was a first in the fashion world that often churns out bling and tinsel and turncoat drama. It was the first time that an intrinsic pale creamy white paper installation had been used as a sculptural stool of sorts in the showcase of Mishra’s delicately pronounced couture.
Speaking to The Hindu , Sachin George Sebastian states that he created the mini installation from a single sheet of paper after being given a few reference images of existing buildings.'
Looking at the clothes and the installation, there seemed to be a subtle blend of the fashioning of what was intricate and intriguing to create something that progressed into a tall urban extension of the sophistication of the whiteness of paper. Considering the fact that the models also wore a lot of pastel and white, the installations and clothes seemed more like a dulcet pairing of sorts. But Sachin George is quick to add, “The clothes that the models wore really didn’t inspire me to create my work. I just sat down and went beyond something I had created for Khoj in New Delhi. This work is an extension of my first artwork titled ‘How Long? How Far?’”
It was clear that Sachin was more a sculptor in the realm of paper power, and in playing with the subversion of tradition. He brought it forward to translate complex ideas about urban planning and demographic complexities into artistic forms made out of paper which are representational and conceptual at once.
Looking at the installation from far, it looked more like a detailed landscape of skyscrapers and urban moods in which flowers and other organic forms transformed themselves into imposing architectural models that were constantly changing.
The beauty of the installation was its pale white allure — it danced to the tints of different shades of light and created a make-believe world. Suddenly, the statement was clear that white is best, both for paper as well as for the couture creations that Mishra had unveiled with such aplomb.
Sachin explained his penchant for white, saying, “I didn’t intend to state anything with the white that I used so far. I just had the notion that unless required, the usage of colour shouldn’t be overdosed. We are surrounded by a culture that is filled with colours — somewhat rather obsessed. When I am able to tell a story without any colour, why should I go for it? Also, I like the challenge of the colour white, I feel it is inviting and I like it when people spend time looking at and admiring my works and figuring out its many details over a period of time.”
At the India Art Fair this year, Sachin’s sculptural flower created out of paper had attracted many enviable glances as crowds of people just stood and gazed.
In many ways, his sculptural installation reminded me of the great artist Holly Senn who created sculptural paper works from discarded library books.
