Stories in clay by Shirley Bhatnagar

Stories in clay

by Shirley Bhatnagar

Friday, 6 January 2011, 7.00pm

Exhibition is on public view on from 7^th till 13^th

Galerie Romain Rolland, Alliance Francaise de Delhi

Alliance Francaise de Delhi presents a show of ceramics based on 2 of the most influential French Films of the French New Wave, 400 Blows and Breathless made in 1959-1960 respectively.

 Shirley Bhatnagar the ceramic artist who has created these works is a graduate of NID Ahmadabad. She talks about how in 1992 during her 1^st year at the college, the movie retrospect of Jean -Luc Godard and Truffaut came to the campus. Having grown up in an era when television was not so big, with no access or exposure to international cinema, at a time when the internet had not still come home, getting to watch the best cinema of the world was quite an experience and it had a profound effect on her.

The largest work literally a “hanging color palette” based on A Bout de Souffle composed of over a 100 ceramic pieces on which one side are images printed from the movie and the flip side a myriad of colorful glazes, Many fragments coming together to create a story which was for its time applauded for being bold, choppy and fast moving. Breathless also introduced to the world of contemporary cinema “jump cuts” when Godard was told to reduce the length of the film prior to its release he sat with a scissor cutting frames from the scenes thus giving the movie an edgy feel. The ceramic screen over 9 feet long tries to evoke this aspect of the film while depicting the relationship between Michael and Patricia.

 400 Blows or Les Quatre Cents Coups which also means “to raise hell “ is a heart rendering film about a 12 year boy unloved by his parents, uncared for by his school teachers a mischievous boy for whom no one wants to take responsibility, tragically ends up in a juvenile home for no real reason.

 The ceramic installation for this movie is a wall composed of over a150 glazed bricks. Brick buildings or blocks associated with any kind of a dwelling are supposed to protect shield and us from harm but in Antoine’s case seeks to trap and confine him. Brick walls and brick buildings are reminiscent of places of authority and in this case as a metaphor for prison and his life at home and at school.

 Other references deal with Fashion taking cue from the famous black and white stripes associated with French glamour and as is the case here which Patrica the chic heroine of Breathless dons. The stripes are made in clay encircling and wrapping the vessels like a fashionable garment, where they have taken a life of their own -vertical, horizontal, wavy and straight jump out of their flatness into 3D.

There is a also a photo illustration work which combines drawing and ceramics. A landscape inspired from the life of Antoine Doinel who as a paper character navigates the sculptures and creates a memory for the viewer.

 For further information please write to asst_culture@afdelhi.org