Toys are Us

Meanwhile, the sculptor had already tried his hand at conventional media for sculpting — quite successfully, one might add, given that some of these works bagged him a couple of national awards. But working in the toy industry has changed him forever. Now the artist wants his works to ‘reach out’ to his audience, just like the toys he designs.

‘‘Today the world has such a multitude of materials — I enjoy exploring this,’’ says Kumar. ‘‘Also, I don’t like investing too much in material. Besides everyday materials like toys or earthen pots are easier to relate to for the common people,’’ he adds.

Kumar draws inspiration from his past, his culture and the various stimuli from his upbringing. For instance, Ancestor Mound depicts the tradition of burying the dead within the family land, which is followed by his community. Similarly, Transformations, represents the basic philosophy of the Veer Shaiva sect to which his family belongs, wherein, the intermediary between God and human beings is done away with by letting each person own his or her own Shiv Ling.

Bulls are Watching, the sculpture which is made of reject latex toys, came out of the artist’s need to put together the toys which he had created and to see them in a different form. Made up of numerous small toys with their own individual eyes, the two life-size bulls stand gazing at a television set, representing the innocent masses that are fed negative messages through the medium of television broadcasting.

‘‘I am not making a political statement by the saffron and green colouring of the bulls,’’ explains Kumar. ‘‘I try and avoid making statements because I don’t like saying something definite.’’ The emphasis for the artist is instead, reaching out, as he puts it. Hence his inflatable latex creations such as an untitled one in Japan, which can also be played with as a gigantic punch doll.

‘‘I want people to come and touch and feel and if possible be a little playful with the work,’’ he confesses. At the same time, the artist creates his works keeping in mind the fact that he does not want them to become playthings or toys for viewers.

To be able to choose a new material is easy, but to execute works of art in unexplored media requires technical expertise and immense sensitivity. Arun Kumar has definitely made his choices wisely so far, opening interesting avenues in the world of sculpture with his innovations.