HYDERABAD: A collection of 12 castings, the exhibits conveyed the artist’s fascination for nature - both the primordial and the evolved. ‘I have seen a tiger’ is an interesting concept that wraps itself around juxtaposition of the tiger and humankind drawing a comparison between the animal’s instincts and its counterpart in the human world.The Tiger“The animal is all about aggression. It prowls and hunts and instills fear in all. However, I do not view this characteristic as a negative feature. It is a survival skill. This was what drew me to the animal in the first place,” explains Sahana. In his sculptings, the tiger is often paired with a human element, mostly a woman, and the two seem to be in a Tango. The sculpture titled ‘Fearless’ has a woman placed looking down at the tiger. Sahana says, “Its almost as if she’s asking the tiger, ‘Who are you?’ She shares the same instinct as the tiger and is fearless.” The WomanAnybody even mildly familiar with Sahana’s work will realise that the feminine element is a very dominant theme. The artist seems to hold a very deep regard towards the role a woman plays. Most of the sculptures had a woman in the concept. To name a few, his castings ‘In love’, ‘Fertile’, ‘Protector’, ‘Integrity’ expressed the quality of a woman intertwined with that of the tiger. Talking about the feministic view, he says, “The woman shares the same intrinsic characteristic the tiger has - the aggression. She is fiercely protective yet there is a very warm motherly side to her. In one of my sculptures, I have drawn the tiger’s head as an ornament on the back of the woman’s head.” Given his explanation, one could also understand the woman to have two faces - one the soft, maternal side and the other the fierce and feral. NatureAnother interesting common thread among the sculptures is the depiction of foliage to connect the primitive and domesticated. The person (in the sculpture) is always adorned by a creeper of some sort that connects them to their untamed side, like an umbilical chord. The use of red, blue and green add to the explosion of colours that give the jungle feel.“I have seen a tiger’ is an interesting concept that takes us back to a time when natural instincts dictated the senses. It is an appealing emotion that most will relate to,” says Sahana adding, “We need to have that aggression alive in us. Otherwise, life can become very boring.” CostSisir Sahana’s sculptures are available at the Kalakriti art gallery for a neat sum of `3,00,000.
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