This is an exhibition that will make you think twice before you throw anything away in future.
Manjula Selvam, born and brought up in Auroville, has put on display art pieces created out of throwaway clothing materials at Ishta, the garment unit she manages.
Her show, using recycled materials knotted and hand-woven into unique art creations, reflect the artist’s “inner vision of Auroville colours” that is as much a riot of colour as a festival of ideas.
Ms. Manju and her brother Balu have the Aurovillian way of life ingrained in them as their father who was called ‘Matrimandir Ramalingam’ was one of the two children who laid the foundation stone of the Matrimandir and later worked there for over three decades, according to Auroville archives.
It was after stints in apparel design in Bengaluru and Arcosanti in Texas that Manju made the bold decision to start ‘Ishta’.”
As someone who has always wanted to make something out of nothing, she began her exploration with recycled materials creating bags from TetraPaks. “I love exploring and experimenting with colours and as I can’t use them all for men, I design only for women and small girls. I use a lot of coloured fabric in various shades for the garments and saw all the cut leftovers were so colourful that I didn't feel like throwing them away. So I decided to recycle them by making accessories like hair clips, elastic bands, head bands and ear rings,” she said.
While she has grown adept at using recycled materials for creating wearable art, this exhibition marks a departure as her creations have been made to adorn walls. “We always tended to make more just to try and use all the waste and they were adding up. Hence at one point I thought why not try something else out of it?” she says. Initially, she experimented on 12"x12" canvas board to see how it went before she moved on to larger platforms.
“When my close friends and well wishers saw my work, they virtually goaded me to make a larger collection and conduct an exhibition. And here I am with 26 art works,” she said. Each piece that she created was improvised. “I decide the colour and design after seeing what I have got in hand and the design flows spontaneously.” For her, working with colour and design is almost like meditation, a process of focus of inner joy.
The exhibition is on at the Pitanga Cultural Centre till July 29.
I have always wanted to create art but painting wasn’t my strongest point, so I tried exploring with fabric.
Manjula Selvam
