Making Life Out of Ruins

 IN A WORLD that often operates in extremes, we tend to evaluate the worth of an object based solely on its functionality. This creates a predica­ment where we assign little to no value to items that are deemed ordinary, dis­carded, or unfit for their intended purpose. By limiting our relationships with objects, we also limit our connection to the natural world around us. The artist Abdulla PA challenges this very perspective. In his first solo exhibition at Travancore Palace in Delhi, titled Ruins of an Embrace, curated by Amitesh Grover and presented by Gallery Dotwalk, he urges viewers to adopt a fresh approach, one that allows objects to exist beyond their utility. A space where an object's value transcends its practical use, embracing instead a more sensitive and intangible merit.

Born in the coastal town of Kodungallur, Kerala, Abdulla left his advertising career in Doha in 2017, driven by a powerful desire to pursue the visual arts. This pivotal deci­sion led him to the Government College of Fine Arts in Thrissur, Kerala, where he embarked on an artistic journey that would ultimately define his signature style. While his peers were immersed in traditional art materials, predictable forms such as clay, stone, cement, and wood, Abdulla’s artistic sensibilities gravitated toward the unconventional. He found his muse not in pristine, finished supplies, but in discarded objects. He sought these treasures on sea­shores and in scrapyards, critically re-eval­uating their inherent value. For Abdulla, these weathered, lingering pieces were far incor­poreal evidence of reminiscence, silent witnesses to forgotten stories. He saw a parallel between the physical traces left behind on these discarded items and the faint, fading nature of human memory, slowly dwindling until it disappears entirely.

In 2018, the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala and eventually the Covid became a defining, albeit fleeting, moment in Abdulla’s artistic journey. The isolation and seclusion that came with the pan­demic led him to a period of deep contemplation. He began spending more time walking along empty beach­es and in scrapyards, transforming these spaces into a meditative sanctuary for his practice. This new routine allowed him a space for profound self-reflection and introspection. Abdulla found his creative freedom in the discarded materials of the scrapyards. The objects there gave him the liberty and comfort to experiment, to break them, mould them, and restructure them without the pressure of a finished product. For him, a scrapyard is a cultural archive. This treatment also became one of the foundational bases for the body of work presented in this solo exhibition. Abdulla says, “If anyone has to under­stand the terrain of the region, they must see the nearest scrapyard. The ma­terial and the objects tell a lot about it.”

The contemplative atmosphere of the shores led Abdulla to engage more deeply with the natural world, with insects, flora, and fauna. His fascina­tion with nature goes beyond simple observation. Instead, he seeks to (de) construct objects into something more emotional, tangible, and evidential. He uses found objects not just to represent nature, but to give it a new, more emo­tional presence in his work. Finding and choosing an object for Abdulla is not an intentional or deliberate act but more of an accident or a moment of intuition.

He says, “When I go to a place, an object, or a specific thing will just grab me and hold my focus. It will force me to pay attention to it, and my mind will be completely absorbed by that one particular object, even with so much other scrap and so many other things around it. It is not a choice I make; it is almost as if the object itself chooses me. I believe that some objects have their own inherent stories, and some possess a unique potential that I am drawn to. I am not intentionally going out and searching for these specific items; they simply reveal themselves to me.”

This philosophical and material ex­ploration culminated in his first major recognition from the Kerala Lalithakala Akademi for his work, Resting Memories in 2020-21. This poignant piece, an oil painting on a metal sheet, depicts his grandfather resting in a chair. The intentional use of a metal surface, with its inevitable patina, serves as a powerful metaphor. The gradual decay and rust of the metal mirror the way memory itself fades and corrodes over time, a beautiful and melancholic commentary on the transient nature of existence and the fragile hold we have on the past.

In the exhibition, Ruins of an Embrace, Abdulla exhibits a powerful collection of sculptural works that present a multi­faceted experience for the audience. On one level, it functions as a traditional vi­sual arts showcase focused on Abdulla's artistic practice. On another, more inno­vative level, it transforms into a “theatre of objects and memories”, as mentioned in the note by the curator. This allows the audience not only to view the art but also to witness a performance —a theatrical presentation of Abdulla's process and exploration. The exhibition gathers overlooked and fragile objects, transforming them into “sculptural constellations that dwell in the space between survival and disappearance.” Grover says, “Abdulla's works behave like performers on a stage. Each rusted tin, loofah, or fragment of wood carries its own biography, a trace of the hands that once held it, the families that once lived with it, the time that weathered it. When Abdulla brings these fragments together, they do not sit silently; they act, they resonate, they evoke. Much like in theatre, meaning arises not just from the individual “characters” but from the relationships between them, and from the audience’s encounter with them. His installations invite us to witness memory in performance, fragile, fleet­ing, yet deeply alive”.

THE EXHIBITION OFFERS an entry to Abdulla’s practice as a fas­cinating enquiry into biomimicry and biomorphism, and how these concepts influence and contribute to an artistic practice. Abdulla appears to be exploring how a close examination of natural history and evolution can provide valuable clues for the design of the present. By studying natural forms in detail, he excavates their inherent arrangement and his­torical significance. This treatment helps him understand how organic elements have evolved and served a purpose. His practice is about connecting these observations to his art. He asserts, “How can I bridge the gap between nature's inspira­tion and my creative expression?” This deep-seated connection to the natural world allows him to create art that is both aesthetically pleasing and conceptually strong.

Inviting Amitesh Grover, a curator who considers different forms of art— ranging from theatre to visual expres­sions—as interconnected manifesta­tions emanating from creative minds, to curate the exhibition, interestingly adds to the visual dynamism of the show and space, a subtle movement as we walk through the exhibition. In Grover's first white cube exhibition, he approaches it in a unique style, try­ing to balance the gap between static and movement, treating the space as a stage and the exhibition as a static performance. He creates a rhythm in how viewers encounter work, almost like scenes unfolding. In this sense, the exhibition borrows from theatre: it asks visitors to enter slowly, to listen, to recognise that these fragments are not silent, but performing their afterlives. Grover says, “The stillness of an exhibi­tion space is very different from the dynamism of performance, but I saw this as an opportunity. Abdulla’s prac­tice already holds movement within it. The movement of memory, of touch, of time, and of weathering materials. My curatorial approach was to make that inner motion visible to the audience. Instead of overwhelming the space, I worked with restraint: arranging the works almost like pauses in a poem, so that viewers encounter them slowly, one after another, with time to listen. For me, the exhibition becomes less about looking at art in silence, and more about entering into a conversation with what lingers in objects, what refuses to disappear”.

Abdulla’s practice at large holds a very significant place within the visual arts landscape of India. His par­ticipation nationally and internation­ally in spaces like IDMA, presented by Kochi Biennale Foundation (2022) and Stiftung Kunstdepot, Göschenen, Switzerland (2025), positions him at a junction where he understands as well as contributes towards the grow­ing dialogue between the audience in Global North and Global South as it takes new shape and forms. His skill­ful practice as a sculptor appeals to the south Asian audience as much as his experiments and a unique visual language create a curiosity among the global viewers. His experimental outlook keeps him on the edge, thus catering to different kinds of audiences and striking the right balance between thought, appeal, and aesthetics.