Art Ichol Journal

Scavenger’s Trick
a planter. The crushers became moving installations and the graders were transformed
into an interesting see-through-partition. I liked making this connection between the
creative concepts at Ichol and the Beri family business. I was in my most creative
element using the factory scrap, creating contemporary and innovative objects. To
see the old and discarded come to life is akin to creating magic.
Often we would work from 9 am to 8 pm and if that was not tough enough, I would
come home and cook too! Papaji loved chilli-chicken and I found that cooking
actually relaxed me. Cooking and eating together helped us bond and get to know each
other better. Now that the project is complete I feel like a big part of me is somehow
missing. Even though I was not physically there all the time, I was so involved in the
whole project that it became me.
photo courtesy: art ichol
Art Ichol has played a significant role in my life. I have lived with an imagined
vision, seen it grow brick by brick, to behold it standing solemn and magnificent
among the hills and scenic landscape of Ichol Village. It’s an awesome sight. To
have been part of its creation is something that I cherish and thank Ambica di
for. Nurtured by dreams, ideas and perseverance of many, I know it will assert its
contribution in the world of art.
Elevating the indigenous or local - using junk automobile parts, metal
drums and fuel tanks is an essential feature of Narayan Sinha’s work.
For this self-taught 35-year-old sculptor, art is all about celebrating
beauty in the mundane. Working with ‘Found Materials’ he creates
an ambience where local tradition and culture are placed in the global
perspective of contemporary art.