Humour and wit in Manjunath Kamath's sculptures, drawings

New Delhi:  Terracotta sculptures and drawings by Delhi-based artist Manjunath Kamath investigates narratives of everyday life interwoven with mythologies and stories.

In his new body of work titled "Postponed Poems," Kamath has created modern narratives out of classical, traditional sculptures.

Kamath's collecting hobby of over 30 years forms the basis for understanding of his recent work.

The artist says he is fascinated with the amazing forms of the past such as traditional temple sculptures, broken parts of old havelis, ritual masks and icons of god and goddesses.

He has captured such antiques in terracotta sculptures, which he has turned into a modern metaphor replete with humor and satire.

"I have a great fascination for traditional classical sculpture and paintings from my childhood, and I still remember that I spent hours looking at those sculptures in temple chariots and on walls.

I have spent hours with local craftsmen watching them make idols of gods and goddesses," says the 42-year-old artist.

"Eventually, I even started collecting classical sculptures and paintings like ritual masks, wooden and metal sculptures, parts of temple chariots, old terracotta sculptures. It was natural then that

I would want to bring the aesthetics of this classical style into my works but interpret them on my own terms. It is like reconnecting to our roots," he says.

Kamath, who studied sculpture at Chamarajendra Academy of Visual Arts (CAVA) in Mysore, says he has been conceptualising the show for the last five years, and the attempt to use classical influence in contemporary art was a challenge.