SELF-PORTRAIT by Jyoti Bhatt in collaboration with
Rooshad Shroff For Asia Society India Centre
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"What we see on the outside, may not be true inside..." -JYOTI BHATT
What we see on the outside, may not always be same inside. The title, 'SelfPortrait', or 'Noisy Outside, Empty Inside', refers to the hollowness I find within myself, against the chaos of the outer world. As an artist, my main interest was to interpret this verbal concept as a visual one.
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This year, we took a creative journey from Mumbai to Baroda, with a grand finale in Agra, to bring to you our 2022 Asia Society collectible: a beautifully designed, limited-edition marble inlay work. Featuring an artistic composition by the eminent Jyoti Bhatt and masterfully translated by Rooshad Shroff, this marble inlay work is a myriad of colours pieced together by artisans who have been keepers of the craft for generations. It is a spectacular piece that brings together the magic of art, craft and design. As a craft, marble inlay or pietra dura has been practiced in India for hundreds of years, its epicentre being Agra and its most celebrated expression - the Taj Mahal. Jyoti Bhatt has an intuitive understanding of materials and is sensitive to the creative labour that goes into making a collaborative work of art. For this project, he created something that represents his sensibilities as a print-maker but also acknowledges the artistic work of the craftspeople who would translate it into marble inlay.
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When asked about the meaning behind the work, he said: The white shape, which looks like a human figure, is a concretization of this abstract emptiness, and the cluster of coloured strips that form its surroundings appears as a leaf. The evocation of a human figure in the centre of a leaf might have emerged from an old glass painting I had seen during my school days: of a child Krishna sleeping on a pipal leaf. The concept of showing blank space which simultaneously appears like a figure in this marble inlay is an important part of the work. And it is a phenomenon that can be conveyed equally well in other mediums such as painting, print, collage, and so on.
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THE PROCESS
“The craft enables me to add an additional layer onto the work” - ROOSHAD SHROFF
Artisans have been passing on the skill of marble inlay from generation to generation, creating traditional pieces with Mughal motifs to this day. The idea was to renew and increase interest in this craft by giving it a contemporary character. This exploration has resulted in some exquisite pieces and a revival of the technique. This latest collaboration is yet another leg in our journey, its destination marked by the artisan fulfilling the vision of the artist. At its heart is the quest to use inlay as a medium of expression for designs born of drawings, canvas and colour, thereby adding new layers and dimensions to the work. As designers, we are endeavouring to translate the artist’s vision from sketch to stone, a translation of design language that we hope will result in pieces that reaffirm their roots in the distinct artisanal locales of India, reasserting their authorship of origin and sustaining an age-old craft by reinventing it, while simultaneously preserving its legacy. 5
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DETAILS
An exclusive handcrafted iteration of Jyoti Bhatt's work, designed and executed in collaboration with Rooshad Shroff. Details: Marble inlay work 18" diameter; 3/4" depth; 4-4.5kg weight Signed and dated This is a limited edition work of 30. Each work, carefully packaged in a custom box, will carry the artist signature, edition number, special note from the artist and an authentication certificate. For costing and acquiring details please contact: Radha Mahendru, Director Strategy and Partnerships at rmahendru@asiasociety.org *12% GST Applicable *Shipping charges not included
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JYOTI BHATT Born in 1934 in Bhavnagar, Gujarat, Jyoti Bhatt grew-up influenced by his father’s Gandhian philosophy. He came to Baroda and studied painting from 1950 to 1959 at the Faculty of Fine Arts, M.S.University under N.S Bendre, K.G Subramanyan and Sankho Chaudhuri. He has extensively engaged with printmaking and digital media and is an internationally acclaimed photographer, whose archival material of the living traditions of tribal and rural visual arts is a documentation of significance historically. Jyoti Bhatt attributes his sustained engagement as an artist to the guidance of his teachers, the support of his friends, the curiosity of students, the journey of parenting, and the love and friendship of his partner ceramist (late) Jyotsna Bhatt. He lives and works in Baroda, and despite fragile health and failing eyesight continues to work everyday in his studio.
ROOSHAD SHROFF Rooshad Shroff founded Rooshad Shroff Architecture + Design in Mumbai, India, in 2011, after he had studied at Cornell University and Harvard University Graduate School of Design. Along with the realization of interiors and buildings, the practice operates beyond the traditional boundaries of architecture, including furniture, product, fashion, publishing and graphic design. Paying homage to the quantum of time required for completion, and attempting to introduce a new respect for traditional Indian techniques and skills, the studio sees itself playing a vital role in their resurgence. Knowledge of the craft, underscored by innovation, goes a long way in producing quality work that is at par with international requirements.
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ASIA SOCIETY INDIA CENTRE Asia Society is a global network of non-profit, non-partisan institutions across the world that navigates shared futures for Asia and the world across policy, arts and culture, education, sustainability, business, and technology. Asia Society's India Centre, located in Mumbai, presents an array of perspectives on modern South Asia, cultivating a nuanced understanding of the region and its diaspora through diverse programming. Our focus within the arts is to promote public engagement and artistic expression, and support artist communities across South Asia and South Asian diaspora.
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