Staple Art

Pooja Iranna creates miniature sculptures from staple pins to make a monumental statement on the human psyche.

Architecture reveals the soul of a society, believes sculptor Pooja Iranna. The daughter of artists Rameshwar and Shobha Broota, experimentation with textures and material has always been key to the construction of her ideas over the last couple of decades. And this time, she has chosen an entirely novel material to do so—staple pins—besides replacing her photographic lens with large canvases. The artist speaks of the architect within her:

Q When did the use of staple pins begin?

A It started about two years ago. I’ve always worked with different materials. Earlier, I used paper for installations; images, digital materials and anything new and less tried. Staple pins fell in that category, and like a baby, I had to show it off to the whole world. Personally, the new material is exciting as well as comfortable. In the boxed arrangement of the pins, I am able to think like an architect and work as a constructor of ideas.

Q The sculptures are miniatures. Was this because of the size of staple pins?

A For me, what is important is the ‘simple’ and not the monumental. My structures do not convey geometry, but personality. The building personifies the individual within us, and like a building, each being contains within himself his society, social structure and psyche. And being a part of that society, I depict it through these structural compositions. 

Q You have also included canvases in this exhibition. Is this the next step forward?

A The canvas is a medium that I have not explored so far. Earlier, paper was my language. The themes are related to architecture, as is usual with me, but my walls are not geometrical. They are living beings joined together at certain points. They are also a persona growing out of human experiences, conveyed by solidity. The dark texture of the background, like raindrops, is a deliberate attempt to symbolise human experiences dripping down into the social sphere. The walls, the dripping and the solid form suggest that as humans, we are interrelated and can never be alone.

Q Your colour palette is restrained and atonal. 

A I believe that humans like to stay together, as do walls. So, a tonal range within a certain colour was necessary. 

Q And ahead?

A In the direction of video art. A single specimen is a seven-minute clip of a structure like a tall building, which then begins to tilt and transform into a boat, and then a ship. Background sounds knit together the thought that we are gradually tilting towards globalisation, as conveyed through the ship. We need to explore and go further, from a static condition to that of a tilting boat in the waters that finally become a ship sailing the high seas.

In the Waves and Underneath will be on view at Palette Art Gallery, New Delhi till 9 October

About The Author

Shubhra Mazumdar