To say or not to say is the million-dollar question. Delhi-based artist Simran K S Lamba, 32, who concluded his exhibition titled ‘Nouveau’ at the India Habitat Centre on August 17, decides to say it straight from the shoulder. Well almost. For an independent artist trying to find his place in the enormous artistic cosmos isn’t really a cakewalk. The impenetrability of the competitive, elitist and sometimes ruthless art world is not only challenging, but could also be unimaginable for many. Taking cognizance of that has taken some time, but the realisation has also brought a tremendous sense of tranquility within Lamba’s heart that would often ache to be accepted and appreciated. It still does, he tells us, but over the years his attention has shifted from seeking validation to embracing his soul’s ecstasy, without which his works would be stripped of their quintessence.
His alter ego on his journey of achieving creative salvation was found in the company of a dark, dense substance lying sprawled in front of him on the roof of his residence in 2006. After observing it for a few days, he took a few buckets of boiling tar inside his studio, unaware that that it would become his prime modus operandi for his imaginative visual articulations. “I was water-proofing my roof and saw tar being bought in to do so. I had a moment of epiphany. I knew I could create something more meaningful out of it,” says Lamba who metamorphosed this primordial material, commonly used for road-making, into a fascinating framework of forms and abstract ideas. He went on to unlock the galaxy of ideas that lay imprisoned within the darkness of its sticky facade.
Coal tar taking different forms over a canvas is not a regular sight, though it’s certainly one that adds to the novelty of the art-appreciation experience. It’s a rebellious medium that takes its own course but allows you to communicate with it, provided you’re a patient onlooker. “It’s still an unlikely medium to work with, in addition to being obstinate at times. But, I’m not one to back down from challenges, and therefore, welcomed whatever impediments it presented,” he says with a smile. In the race to the finish, Lamba usually won.
Coalesced out of metal, wood, nuts and bolts, wire, ink and more, ‘Nouveau’ is a bold body of insightful arrangement that reflects Lamba’s experiences. He calls himself reserved in his personal life but his art is a bold shout-out of his conscious and subconscious needs; a deep want for sustenance being one of them. It’s an anchor that will see him through; an energy that will encourage him to continue to rebelliously be himself; a source of encouragement that knows no bounds. In short, a need to maintain the eccentric streak in him, he needs to be able to sustain himself in this industry. Through his recent exhibition he has achieved that, but he hopes he can proudly claim control on that attribute forever.
In Lamba’s recent exhibition, one can see all manner of aspects, including pieces on rebellion, women, birth, season, spiritual and religious symbolisms, musicians, dancers, lovers, firecrackers and more. However, one of the most gripping works was the one fashioned out of an iron wok with a hole, arranged on brown metal rods with protruding trishuls. The moon crescent on the top completed the installation of Shiva, of course not in a form you would conventionally expect to see. “It’s a part of my series called shunya. It’s a compelling one because the symbolisms are strong, for example, the hole in the piece denotes space and the trishul stands for positivity,” says this short filmmaker who spent a good part of his earlier days in theatre. Being the son of Mona Lamba, the well-known fashion designer of the brand Monapali, has not affected Lamba’s personal freedom of experimental exploration. If at all, she’s been a catalyst for investigation into this world that contains within itself a fascinating amount of latent artistic potential. Lamba has taken upon himself to dig deep and find his treasure.