Phoenix ArtSci Fest: a two-month spotlight on the heritage of Indian art, science

For two months, the Phoenix ArtSci Fest will highlight some of India’s rich heritage through traditional and contemporary exhibits. Here are some of the 200 creative installations.

PhotoSparks is a weekly feature from YourStory, with photographs that celebrate the spirit of creativity and innovation. In this edition, we feature some of the outdoor and indoor art installations at the Phoenix ArtSci Fest in Bengaluru.

In the earlier 170 posts, we brought you a wide range of creative photographs from an art festival, cartoon gallery. world music festival, telecom expo, millets fair, climate change expo, street art festival, wildlife conference, startup festival, Diwali rangoli, and jazz festival.

The two-month ArtSci Fest at Phoenix MarketCity in Whitefield is a celebration of Indian art and ancient science, along with contemporary works. Art and science both are attempts to interpret our world, and the exhibition captures some of this dual exploratory spirit.

Featured artists include Bharat Thakur, Rupchand Kundu, Subrata Karmkar, Rajib Sur Roy, Sunil Sarkar, Vasundhara Ballal, Shilpy Gupta, Shafeeque Punantihl, and Dattatreya Aralikatte. An outstanding outdoor installation made of recycled metal parts spans all of 32 feet – it's titled Men Without Wings, by Rupchand Kundu.

Another massive indoor exhibit has sculptures of Indian mathematicians, which can also be 3D-printed. An outdoor installation depicts Dasha Avatar, the 10 primary avatars of Lord Vishnu. Puppets, terracotta works, paintings, and an immersive Infinity Cube blend traditional and hi-tech art at the sprawling venue.

Shafeeque Punathil, an artist from Kerala, has been in Bengaluru for the last 30 years. He is a student of Yusuf Arakkal (see my photo essay on Gallery Sara Arakkal, run by his wife). “Art is made up of four pillars: universality, matter, proportion, and medium,” he said, in a chat with YourStory.

“Art has immediate and long-term impacts on viewers,” he said. Art can trigger off reactions at the subconscious level, which are sometimes hard to explain.

In Part II of this photo essay, we will feature more creative works from ArtSci 2018, as well as an interview with festival curator Sonu Mulchandani, the Founder of eStudio in Bengaluru.

Now what have you done today to reflect on humanity’s ancient roots and interpret them for our modern era?

Got a creative photograph to share? Email us at [email protected]!

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