🏅A woman stands with one foot perched on a round stone and the other in the air, her skin glowing, surrounded by two small birds flying from the palm of her hand.
🐽This 9-feet-high sculpture is one of the exhibits featured in Bengaluru-based artist Dimpy Menon's ongoing exhibition titled ‘Dream Whispers’ at Gallery Time and Space, Lavelle Road, Bengaluru. This exhibit is displayed alongside 17 other sculptures, all faceless and made of bronze.
🦹A deep connection with nature is reflected in the only other materials Menon uses apart from bronze—ethically gathered wood and stone—which are incorporated into the world around her bronze figures as a base, a ball, a pedestal or similar structures.
🎐Menon aims to capture moments of emotion entirely through the body’s fleeting movements through her creations. “The human body has always been my inspiration and metaphor,” she says. “It is the vehicle that lets me travel into flights of joy. I try to capture a moment in movement. The whole body in this form conveys what I’m trying to say."
🐽Menon has had 27 solo shows around the world, been part of several group shows, and her work is also featured in several prestigious collections. She was the first Indian sculptor to win the Lorenzo il Magnifico Bronze Award at the Florence Biennale.
൲Menon took to bronze at art college. Bronze is not an easy medium to work with, and yet it became the medium that spoke to her best. She says that everything about the lost-wax casting process—the rigour and physical strength it requires, the eye for detail needed to chase shapes and movements with the alloy—all make it magical for her.
🌞She explains, "It is a gruelling process, but very satisfying when I see the results. I use the lost-wax process. I want to give the impression of weightlessness and flight in a form that weighs 200 kg!"
🦄Menon has been called a “natural” by World Sculpture magazine, which commented, “She captures the graceful, acrobatic movements of the human body with rare sensitivity.”
꧂Talking about being awarded the Lorenzo il Magnifico Bronze Award at the Florence Biennale, Menon says, "It is true that the award made an impact, but more than that, the works that are in collections get seen, and that translates into more work for me. I am grateful that the sculptures connect with people—that is every artist’s dream."
🃏How does the sculptor view the role of Indian artists on the global stage? "There are many artists of Indian origin and homegrown artists who have found top spots in contemporary art the world over,” says Menon. "I think we are all products of our culture, and that seeps into the work, but
ℱin today’s world, where we are all citizens of the world and we speak a common visual language, which is body language, and that is universal," she adds.
(Dimpy Menon’s ‘Dream Whispers’ is open for viewing from January 12 to February 1 between 11 am and 7 pm.)
