Nailing it, Basudev Biswas

Artist Basudev Biswas uses up to 50 kgs of iron nails on each of his bigger sculptures. But Biswas, who single-handedly does all the metal casting for each of his four to five feet sculptures, says that taking risks is a part of everyday life. Biswas, who also happens to be the head of the department in his art college in Jalandhar, specialises in metal and wooden sculptures with iron nails of different shapes and sizes to give expression to his forms.

Biswas feels that the market for sculptors in India is ever-growing. He says, “Everyone is trying to explore the various nuances of the metal. After working on metals for a long time, I needed to experiment. Hence, my experiment with mixed media — wood and iron.”
Interestingly, Biswas uses iron nails to breathe life into the base medium, whether wood or metal. “Of course it is difficult to get everything in bulk supply. Using a variety of nails adds different textures to different media,” says Biswas  who says that working with heavy metal makes it all the more difficult to transport them to different venues across the country.

Each of his sculpture dolls have been influences by the art and architecture of the Indus Valley Civilisation. “I have been especially influenced by the dancing girls of Mohenjodaro. Their delicate finesse, the artist’s keenness on the detail makes them one of the finest pieces of art in the world, definitely more than any form of Western art.” The exhibition titled Transition 2009 is currently underway at the Nehru Centre, Worli.