When sculptures speak...

YOUNG, UP-and-coming artist Niloufer Seth started out as a visual communication designer, after obtaining a B.Sc. degree in that field from the Government College of Arts and Crafts, Chennai. Soon she felt it was not her forte. She tried painting, which again did not make her quite happy. A chance visit to the sculpture studio at the Lalit Kala Akademi, to meet a fellow student, led her to try her hand at wax modelling. It then dawned on her, that this was what she wanted to do - to be a sculptor. From that day she has pursued her chosen field of art with deep commitment, creating figurative sculptures in bronze and fibreglass and the result is the exhibition at A Portfolio of Art Happenings, Apparao Galleries (till October 21). In spite of having to take care of a baby, Niloufer did not give up her work. During the eight month break she took, she had the casting of her sculptures done, for which she needed other technicians' help. Though she likes to create bronze sculptures, she often finds it easier to work in fibreglass, as the process is somewhat simpler.

Who is her inspiration? None other than Henry Moore. But her works are not copies in miniature format of the colossal sculptures of Moore, in fact her works reflect the master's only in the easy flow of line and the curvaciousness of the female forms.

"Emotions speak louder than words", as her sculptures are titled, indeed portray human emotions, not through facial expressions, but through body language. And why does Niloufer prefer to depict the emotions of women?. Because she feels most often women's feelings and emotions are not respected and they are often sidelined, at home and at work. Their gestures and movements speak volumes, even when they do not express their feelings verbally. "As an artist I have used my life's script to create various moods and emotions. These are universal and everyone experiences them at some point of time".

The bronzes are oxidised to a uniform black and the fibreglass sculptures are painted in the same tone of black. Niloufer uses the female form somewhat minimally. The distortions too are limited and do not distract the viewer. Except when depicting gymnastics, Niloufer's figures do not have feet. Be it "Ecstasy", "Sorrow", "Day Dream" or "Freedom", the very attitude of the female figure suggests it all. The lines are easy and smooth, true to the Madras School.

Niloufer was a recipient of the outstanding miniature painting award at Kala Kriti, a workshop on creative art at the A.C. College of Technology in 1987. In 1998 she attended a course in painting and drawing under Mr. Jeff Anderson at the San Francisco Art Institute. Later, she had the opportunity to get trained in terracotta and bronze sculptures with Valson Kolleri. She was a participant in the AIDS awareness programme held at the Lalit Kala Akademi by the Alliance Francaise de Madras. Tamil Nadu Ovia Nunkalai Kuzhu gave her a grant for a solo exhibition of her creations in 1999.

LAKSHMI VENKATRAMAN

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