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Rhythm of the terracotta

Nawaid Anjum

Delhi-based ceramic artiste Dipalee Daroz finds the sound of music in the soil. Her solo show titled "Sounding Clay", which is on at Art Alive Gallery in New Delhi as part of the Delhi International Arts Festival 2009, brings together a series of stoneware sculptures, chiseled over a period of about seven years.

At first glance, these terracotta figurines seem to be a set of myriad musical instruments. But a second look reveals that their forms are essentially the symbols of harmony. "There is nothing musical about these figurines. They are the tools of rhythm and balance. They just give expression to my perception," says Dipalee, talking about the amalgamation and inter-connectedness of the various pieces on display.

These pieces draw on the museums objects of across the country. "These are beautiful things that captured my imagination. They highlight the beauty of our civilization," says Dipalee, adding that in India, terracotta figurines date back a long time. Some of the pieces in the show take you back to Harappa and Mohenjodaro, the thriving centres of the Indus valley civilization.

Dipalee, who plays with the pliable, tactile clay with finesse, exhibits an uncanny interest in form, rather than technique. "I like the tough softness of clay," says Dipalee, adding that there are potters who crave to learn the technique of the craft and forget the all-too important aspect of form. Her pieces (porcelain and sculptures) on display at the gallery, are a beautiful blend of both — form and technique.

Form, says Dipalee, has to do with the aesthetics of the medium. Once that is taken care of, technique follows on its own. While today’s potters, she says, should be aware of the techniques, it is important that they also paid attention to the form. Dipalee, who has worked with theatre veterans like Habib Tanvir, has been "exposed to all forms of visual arts" and that has shaped her sensibility which gets reflected in all her works.

Having come up with a solo show after a gap of seven years, Dipalee feels that when you have regular shows, there is a loss of variety. She is someone who keeps working, quietly but constantly, at her own pace. "I would not like to confine myself to any deadline," she says. She is "not social" by temperament and feels that socailising can be "distracting". Her work regimen involves drawing a few sketches triggered by some "rough ideas" and then keep working on those sketches, improvising "intuitively". She says: "Ideas are like river. They come on their own."

But it is important for an artiste, says Dipalee, to know where to stop. Sometimes she gets "sentimental" about her work and ends up spending a lot of her time on any one particular work. While a sculpture should reflect the creativity of an artiste, Dipalee feels that one shouldn’t "overdo" this. The artiste, who shuns all attention, feels upbeat about the pottery scene in Delhi. It is heartening, she says, that a couple of institutes have sprung up and run short-term courses for those interested in the craft. "There is a lot of experimentation happening in Delhi. Mumbai, in comparison, does not quite match the capital’s vibrancy," she says.

All art forms, says Dipalee, are interconnected. "If a musician creates music, you should be able to literally see music and imagine it through your eyes. Likewise, a ceramic piece should be such that the spectator can hear the music emanating from them," says Dipalee.

Your craft, says Dipalee, should give you enough space to configure you sensibility. And when you look at the three-dimensional sculptures on display at the gallery, the sense that you get is that of an artiste having configured her sensibility through clay.