Fascinated by the aesthetics of the Seventies, Masuram Ravikanth revisits the rocking horse
TOYING AROUND: Artist Masuram at his studio
Spandolika, which in Sanskrit means to oscillate back and forth, is not just the title of Masuram Ravikanth’s solo show, but also fittingly describes the Hyderabad artist’s creative process.Although each series is a product of two year’s labour on a subject, Masuram’s body of works almost always go back to romancing the ’70s, specifically the era of photo studios.
Born in 1980 in Jangaon of Andhra Pradesh, Masuram grew up watching his father, a photographer at work in his studio. His earlier series captures royalty in the studio setting but with emphasis on the indulgences of the blue-blooded; another was a series that aimed at reinventing the photography of the 1970s.“It generally takes me two to three years to come up with a concept to work on. For my latest show, the ground work started in 2010,” he says.
Spandolika focuses on the rocking horse, an object from everyone’s childhood. For Masuram personally, the rocking horse was also an object that was found in his father’s studio for children to be photographed on. “The form for Spandolika is inspired by the common children’s toy, the rocking horse. One was there in my father’s studio and it was used as a prop to photograph children. I also drew inspiration from the Channapatna toys,” he says.
Besides the toys from the town on the Bengaluru-Mysore highway, even comic books have an influence on the series. Also known for his witty undertones, Masuram’s new series has contemporary imagery like James Bond or Superman. Taking inspiration from the aesthetics of studio photography, the canvases bear resembles to hand-painted props in two-dimensions.
Masuram’s solo show Spandolika will open on November 29 at Hydera-bad’s Kalakriti Art Gallery. While the canvases are ready to be mounted, the artist also plans to have a “sculpture of the rocking horse for people to go back to their childhood and experience it again”.
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