Cosmos and cooking are at the core of Subodh Gupta’s new art installations

Is ghat antar baag-bageeche, isi mein sirajanhaaraa

Is ghat antar saat samundar, isi mein nau lakh taaraa

 Is ghat antar paaras motee, isi mein parkhanahaaraa

 Is ghat antar anahad garajye, isi mein uthat phuhaaraa

 Hahat Kabir suno bhai saadho, isi mein sayeen hamaaraa

Which translates to

In this vessel lie grove and gardens, in it, too, lives the creator 

In this vessel lie seven seas, in it, too, the nine hundred thousand stars 

In this vessel lies paras’ Pearl, in it, too, the diviner

In this vessel, sheer silence reverberates, in it, too, gushes the fountain  

Artist Subodh Gupta often quotes Kabir, particularly this one verse. “The vessel seems to have stuck with me as an artist trademark. When you look into a vessel (ghat), you see the entire universe. I have worked with vessels for the past 30 years and I could relate to the poem, so worked around it to incorporate it as part of my practice.”

Vessels are at the core of the works Gupta is showing at Nature Morte in Delhi and the Venice Biennale 2022. But so is the act of cooking, and eating, at least in the Venice Biennale installation. Just this past week, the artist cooked up a storm for art lovers at Cipriani, A Belmond Hotel in Venice; he is represented by Galleria Continua, San Gimignano, at the biennale.

The Venice Biennale: Cooking and eating as a performative art

His immersive installation, Cooking the World II (2022)—for a performative art piece involving viewers in the act of cooking and eating— is a hut made of found aluminum utensils, a monofilament line, and steel, within which Gupta cooked his five-course meal, including a lentil soup, Goan prawn curry, lamb curry, and a dessert.

“It is a comment on the diversity of religious and cultural groups in India, matched by a range of dietary restrictions and regional culinary specialties. Offering to share a meal act as the strongest indicator of inclusion and acceptance into a community,” says Gupta.

The artist says he spent hours seeing his mother cook and has been fascinated by the ceremony and rituals associated with the act. The found objects hut will continue to stand on the hotel grounds for the biennale till November 2022.

Cosmic Battle II: The cosmos and the plate

His other show in Delhi, Cosmic Battle at Nature Morte, alludes to metaphysics, rituals, and the way we perceive ourselves.

Gupta says, “A cosmic battle is an imagined battle between metaphysical forces that surround us. The proverbial pitting between good and evil, order and chaos, light and darkness—these antonyms have existed since the dawn of time. And yet, there is a cyclical nature to history, and we repeat the same mistakes. It’s not new for governments to wage war against each other, or for powers to divide us into groups and factions. You will find resonances of the ‘Cosmic Battle’ in the bible too; in my Durga sculpture from 2010, and of most importance, in the everyday strife that fills each of our private cosmoses.”

The thought of vessels, or more precisely, eating or cooking that is at the core of our existence, finds a resonance in the Cosmic Battle installations too. “I have often wondered about the countless planets and number of moons out there that exist unbeknownst to us. And yet, I always found myself returning to that Stephen Hawking quote about whatever we need to find, we must find here. My planet, my universe is within my plate. So, an old piece of cutlery is as interesting to me as a distant celestial body and that is why I am so close to the utensil as a medium—the potential is as limitless as the expanse of the universe,” says Gupta.

There are six works in this show — two kinetic sculptures that relate to the cosmos and three paintings that go back to the landscape of his childhood.

Torso (2022) is a bronze cast sculpture inspired by the visionary sculptor Rodin. “I am not as skilful a sculptor, so I decided to cast just the torso part of my body. I am interested in how sculptures are broken and often headless, specifically those found in pre-modern times. Mushrooms and plants were added later. The pedestal for the sculpture is made from the remnants of railway tracks from rural India,” adds the artist who comes from a family of railway employees.

While the plaster cast for this work was made about seven years ago for another piece of art, it was only later that Gupta thought of casting his own body in bronze in the manner of sculptures such as the Belvedere Torso in the Vatican and Rodin’s Walking Man. “Torso is a comment on the passage of time and an attempt to see my own body and accept my mortality.”

Subodh Gupta's 'Torso'.

Self-portrait is inspired by another childhood memory — a ritual he saw his mother perform regularly when she laid four bricks down and made an offering to them. “We did not grow up going to museums or learning the history of modern art, so these rituals become the site of artistic impetus,” Gupta says. The work is also an interlinking of historical narratives. “I put together the installation with utensils gathered from different parts of the country, used by different people. Breaking bread together is sacred.”

The sculpture that fascinates this writer the most is Cosmic Battle (II), a theatrical work that hangs like a piece of dramatic art at the centre of the gallery in The Dhan Complex at Chhatarpur. The fabrication was an extensive process, always needing six to eight people on-site. “First, a steel armature was manufactured. Over this framework, brass was laid and hammered to ensure that the sculpture had perfect symmetry, accuracy in scale, and a seamless smooth curve. It weighs approximately 700 kilos and its installation was nothing short of theatrical. We had to construct a special track on which the sculpture came wheeling into the gallery space. It was then suspended from the ceiling,” says Gupta.

'Cosmic Battle II' is currently on show at the Dhan Mill Complex, Chhatarpur, Delhi.

Before he studied art, Gupta worked as a theatre actor, an experience that impacted his art more than training in visual art did. “The aspect of theatricality is still part of my work. Suspended from the ceiling, I wanted Cosmic Battle to graze the floor, presenting itself to the viewer in multiple guises,” he says.

The physically commanding work is ephemeral and elusive at the same time, because of all the reflective surfaces that manoeuvre light as it twirls with its hypnotic rotations.

The high ceilings and the brick walls of the once-abandoned Dhan Mill Complex complement the experience of the art, encouraging viewers to immerse themselves in its atmospheric drama.

“The blacked-out, elongated interiors encourage the grandeur I wanted the sculpture to reflect, both literally and metaphorically," says Gupta. "The play of light and darkness is of essence to this body of work. The location at Chhatarpur also serves as a sanctuary since it is slightly away from the bustle of the city. Visiting the exhibition can be considered a pilgrimage in a sense—making it a place of prayer, that speaks of spiritual care and private histories.”