CHANDIGARH’S NEK CHAND IN LONDON (London)
UMA NAIR

In the exhibition, the life-sized seated monkeys in reddish
concrete are mysteriously thoughtful, like Buddha figures. A large,
flat bird figure, its opulent surface made of translucent green glass
fragments, testifies to Mr. Chand’s canny decorative instincts. And
various human figures – from adult to toddler sized, and in a range of
muted colors, from off-white to many shades of deep gray – reflect an
all-embracing democratic sympathy with ordinary humanity.
The works in the exhibition are representative of the types of
sculptures found in the Rock Garden of Chandigarh. The arrangement
of the figures in the museum in undulating tiers recalls the prominent
architectural elements of the Rock Garden. Chand’s figures are
frontal, upright, three-dimensional and vary in size from 1-1/2 to
6 feet high. They are created and shaped with cement built over an
armature of found metal, often the frame of an old bicycle, and brick
dust is added to the mortar mixture to create color variations on the
surface. A master of recycling, the artist frequently embellishes his
figures with broken tiles and ceramic kitchenware, bicycle parts, glass
bangles, foundry waste (such as clinkers and slag) as well as natural
materials – stones and other miscellany.