Contemporary arts and sculptures most of the time seek to discern, decipher and then reflect the modern world- which is politically, socially, economically unjust and uncertain – often in simple manner, yet quite eloquently. Here the ‘Child with a Chair’ sculpture definitely reveals the very essence of such innate longing of the contemporary sculptures.
That very essence of the sculpture and the message that comes forth seem to have not been lost with Supreme Court Judge Justice Uday Umesh Lalit who during his visit to the state in a programme relating to Children’s Rights (with an exhibition on the theme of Protecting Children: Providing Hope) took special interest in it.
“This sculpture carries enough significance”- were the words that Justice Lalit said. Indeed. The statement carved in the sculpture rouses the contemporary truth and brings to fore the unfair, as well as, the uncertain world of a girl child. The judge’s keen and discerning eyes did not miss it. This piece of art work is truly inviting and powerful.
At first glance the girl may appear like a modern day Alice lost in her own wonderland, alone and amazed and, perhaps, a little bewildered with the chair’s incline.
But with a deeper look, it appears, the sculpture denotes the girl child’s dream in contemporary construct. The Chair here is symbolically representing the power, position, possibilities and ultimately hopes—for the child. It is, in a sense, thus unambiguous, provocative and exciting too. It definitely engages the audience with an entrenched notion –while the underlying cynicism, of course, not really being missed.
