Nuru Karim explores concepts of nature through décor elements in his new exhibition
The sum of the parts is greater than the whole. This is the main idea of architect-artist Nuru Karim’s new show NU DE Models, which opens at Priyasri Art Gallery tomorrow. The works on display have been created by using cutting-edge digital technology such as 3D printing. A far cry from conventional creations of art such as oil on canvas, these models are devoid of any hues and prompt the viewer to cast their gaze on spatial hierarchies that blur traditional boundaries between art, sculpture, installation-art and architecture. Most of them are modelled on patterns of nature and appear as optical illusions at first glance. Once viewers take a closer look, they notice the designs and intricate patterns.
Nuru has sought inspiration from his architectural practice to create these models. He says, “We define our practice with the intersection of public art, architecture and computation design. We don’t see the difference between any of these mediums.”
So, he has used engineering and architectural concepts such as a bottom-up approach, which is the piecing together of several systems to create more complex ones, and juxtaposed them with aspects of nature. “There is a lot that we can learn from them. It’s important to understand these processes and see how they will affect art, architecture, installation art, public ground and urban design.”
(From left: Math Surface, Carpet Scape, and untitled work)
Likewise, certain patterns on animals that are due to chemical morphogenesis and not biological mutation such as zebra stripes find way on a carpet. Phyllotaxis, which is classification of leaves on a plant stem that is seen in sunflowers, is presented in a spiral form. Sign waves, which are modelled after seen in ocean waves, have been 3D printed to create another work.
“You see a lot of maths and geometry inspired by nature, which is a common denominator of a lot of architectural projects. In the bottom up approach, one doesn’t have any idea of what the end form is. The sum of the parts is greater than the whole. We wanted to test the boundaries of spatial exploration. Most of these works are untitled, so they are open to interpretation,” informs Nuru.
The exhibition is on view at Priyasri Art Gallery till March 24, 2019.
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