Mumbai: On Monday afternoon, 59-year-old Sukant Saran, a scientific officer incharge of publications at the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Navy Nagar, and trained physicist started mounting 24 clay sculptures at the institute’s auditorium.
One clay sculpture was an interpretation of Sir Isaac Newton’s law of universal gravitation; another depicted a 28-day embryo.
Titled Sculpting Science: an experiment in art, the exhibition includes sculptures by Saran that interpret various concepts of different branches of science, from physics to mathematics and even biology. It will be inaugurated on the institute’s Foundation Day on June 1 and will be open for viewing till June 10.
Starting 2006, Saran has held five exhibitions of abstract and digital work. But his engagement with sculpture started in 2010.
“There is a public perception of science, and there is also a way scientists view science. Art is a reflection of and on life. This exhibition is a dialogue to bring out the aesthetic qualities of science which will also resonate with the people who may not be completely aware of scientific content,” said Saran who graduated from the 1984 batch at TIFR.
Though trained as a physicist, Saran got interested in the philosophical aspect of science. “Our education system treats arts as intuitive and science is external. But both are related because both are expressions of human creativity and inspired by nature. I respond to the beauty of science like a painter who, for instance, is inspired by the beauty of a landscape.”
Barring three works which were fired in the kiln and form a part of his early works, all other clay sculptures are not fired. “There is a significant number of ceramic artists who believe that it is not right for sculptures to be fired. The rationale being that it takes thousands of years of weathering of rocks to make clay. And to transform it back into rock in a matter of hours seems environmentally unsound,” said Saran.
His favourites among all the sculptures are those that depict duality, also a branch of algebra. “Duality comes across as an esoteric mathematics property. But there is also duality in life, in the form of man-woman, good-bad, high and low class. Duality is one of the most defining patterns of life, which also exists in science,” said Saran.
The exhibition is organised by TIFR and TIFR Alumini Association (TAA). “Sukant is among the very few people in the country who has worked on visual art-related issues. This is a unique experiment where hardcore science concepts are sculpted,” said Mayank Vahia, president, TAA.
