As his master and muse, the ocean has been all pervasive in
Subodh Kerkar’s life and inevitably his work. “The ocean”, by his admission,
“has been an inexhaustible source of inspiration.” Little wonder then that some of his best
creations, which he has showcased around the world, are influenced by his
muse.
Invited to participate at the ‘Sculpture by the Sea’
Biennale in Aarhus, Denmark this June, Subodh, who was only one of the two
artists chosen from India after a competition, created his largest installation
yet. “I carried around 5000 green mussel
shells from Goa and complemented these with 30,000 blue and black Denmark
mussel shells. The idea of taking shells
from Goa was an interesting one as I was connecting two places with my art,” he
explains of his 15 metres by three meter installation embed in sand mixed with
cement on a specially created surface.
Juxtaposed along the works of 58 artists from around the world on this
famous sea front space, the abstract work received acclaim.
What has, perhaps, held more appeal for Subodh is the fact
that he was assisted by several Danish people to set up his installation. “Since I could not do the installation
single-handedly, I put up a request on Facebook asking if people would like to
come and help. I was surprised to see
such a large response. In fact several passersby also stopped and
assisted. Another interesting aspect
is that the labourers who were assigned to work on the installations are
actually specialised in this work and are well informed about art.”
Subodh’s love for the ocean and his reputation as an artist
connected to the sea has invariably garnered him international mileage. The
prestigious Van Gogh Museum’s invitation to talk on ‘Ocean and Art’ is a
testimony to this fact. The first Goan
ever to speak at this iconic institution, he is understandably thrilled and
proud. “I spoke about how the ocean
became a part of me when I walked along the beach everyday with my dad from the
age of six to 16. Those walks
consolidated my relationship with my father and the ocean. I was fortunate to live by the ocean and it
became an inexhaustible source of inspiration.
I connect with the ocean in many ways and use it as a metaphor at
different levels. So I infuse some playfulness, some poetry, some politics,
some mystery or myth into my work,” is a synopsis of his talk which also
included poetry and quotes from his favourite author Tagore.
To this ocean artist, in the words of Tagore’…water in the
ocean is dark and deep; small truths are easy to fathom; great truths have
great silence’!
