The Meditation of creativity

ISSUE: 136

Through his intricate hand-engraved jewellery, artist-designer Aman Poddar is hoping to remind his audience of the benefits of slowing down

What does contemporary visual art mean to you? 

AP: I find that interacting with art gives me space, and allows me to forget about the world outside. So, it serves as a meditation. Walking away from a good show leaves me feeling refreshed and inspired; it makes me want to make more work. Art has always had the ability to capture ideas and emotions in ways other things can’t, and the rules of contemporary art are far more lenient than that those that governed art in years gone by. This freedom allows for the embodiment and effective transmission of relatively complex ideas. Of course, the technologies we have today accentuate these possibilities, and artists today are powerful messengers that catalyse change.

How do you deal with the conceptual difficulty and uncertainty of creating new work? 

AP: Concepts originate in the mind but are often completed only on paper. Therefore, if I am having trouble conceptualising something, I either sketch or try it out on a rough sheet of metal. From there I can assess what parts work, and if any don’t, then make changes. I usually have a clear idea about what I want to create before starting, but if I am uncertain then the only way to clarify that is to try it out. I am learning that it is okay to experiment and that even if an idea doesn’t work out as intended, I leave with some insight I didn’t previously have.

What are you currently working on? 

AP: I am not currently working on a theme. I like to let my creativity flow and manifest however it pleases. Rather than a visual message, it is more about the idea that the process involves – one that involves patience and can serve as an act of meditation. It is about care and detail and knowing that those exist in the work even if not apparent to the naked eye. It is through these invisible forces that I would like to convey how slowing down in this fast-paced world has benefitted me, thereby encouraging the audience to do the same.

Purchase Designindia 135 here. Read the digital copy of Designindia on Magzter, or POOL App which you can download from AppStore, Google Play.