Waste is a growing monster in urban spaces, and effective waste disposal is a challenge that most governments struggle with. Anita Ahuja, who co-founded the not-for-profit organisation Conserve with her husband, Shalabh, in 1998, offers a unique solution to this problem. She channels the waste collected by ragpickers into fashion and home accessories and sells them abroad, the proceeds from which go towards a school that the duo run for slum children. And since last year Ahuja has diversified into making artworks and installations, altering waste from an ugly problem to a fixture in the art space of sensitive aesthetics. Ahuja herself explains the process as "completely transforming material from an ordinary garbage bin and creating something beautiful".
The 53-year-old artist is passionate about her organisation and the work it does to create awareness about the issues of waste disposal, the role of ragpickers in the process and the chaos that surrounds their lives. She explains how the Delhi government only has a limited capacity for collecting and disposing waste, and if it wasn't for the ragpickers and the unique Indian concept of kabaadi, the city would be knee-deep in garbage. Materials like plastic bags that are junked by people are used at Conserve, thus also allowing the community of ragpickers to eke out a livelihood. But things haven't been easy. Her NGO used to run a school in a slum in Delhi, but because of the Commonwealth Games in 2010, most of these slums were displaced and relocated to outer limits of the capital. She has had to shift the school and her production unit to Bahadurgarh in Haryana.
Ahuja is enthusiastic about making a new foray into the art space, while still keeping her bond with the fashion side of the business intact. From lampshades, pouffes, cushions, bags and wallets, she has moved towards creating artworks and large installations that showcase her understanding of urban spaces. One such piece is "No More Place", which appears to be a snapshot of rows of insects. Ahuja explains how crowded metropolitan cities are, with herds of people buzzing about the city, caught up in their daily chores. In the same urban theme is also the "Cosmopolitan" piece, where she has used rows of discarded bottle caps to create a canvas of a multitude of colours. It appears to be a commentary on the different lives that people lead in urban spaces, yet how ordered and similar they appear from a distance. For all her artworks, she uses no synthetic colours or prints and instead utilises the colours of processed plastic bags to create her canvas. The discarded materials are treated through heat and pressure to create large sheets. They are mounted on a canvas, which has a base of oil paint to give the tints she requires.
The showstopper of her collection is the large installation "Traffic", which is shaped like a lady's bag. Ahuja explains how she went through the catalogue of bags that Conserve retails in countries abroad and chose the shape of its best-selling piece, maintaining a continuity between her commercial and artistic endeavours. The installation is a walk-in, where the viewer are greeted with the sounds and fragrances of the city streets, offering a homage to the chaos that surrounds us. But far from offering a aestheticised, nostalgic view of the city, she litters the installation with waste, addressing the issue head-on. The installation itself is completely made of recycled leather belts and discarded material. "One must look inside a woman's bag to really know her," she quips
On display as part of the exhibition titled "At War With the Obvious" at Delhi's India Habitat Centre till December 4, her art pieces, priced between Rs 35,000 and Rs 100,000, will also be up for sale. The works will then travel to London, Paris and Germany in the summer of 2014, telling the world about "how she sees Delhi streets".
The 53-year-old artist is passionate about her organisation and the work it does to create awareness about the issues of waste disposal, the role of ragpickers in the process and the chaos that surrounds their lives. She explains how the Delhi government only has a limited capacity for collecting and disposing waste, and if it wasn't for the ragpickers and the unique Indian concept of kabaadi, the city would be knee-deep in garbage. Materials like plastic bags that are junked by people are used at Conserve, thus also allowing the community of ragpickers to eke out a livelihood. But things haven't been easy. Her NGO used to run a school in a slum in Delhi, but because of the Commonwealth Games in 2010, most of these slums were displaced and relocated to outer limits of the capital. She has had to shift the school and her production unit to Bahadurgarh in Haryana.
Ahuja is enthusiastic about making a new foray into the art space, while still keeping her bond with the fashion side of the business intact. From lampshades, pouffes, cushions, bags and wallets, she has moved towards creating artworks and large installations that showcase her understanding of urban spaces. One such piece is "No More Place", which appears to be a snapshot of rows of insects. Ahuja explains how crowded metropolitan cities are, with herds of people buzzing about the city, caught up in their daily chores. In the same urban theme is also the "Cosmopolitan" piece, where she has used rows of discarded bottle caps to create a canvas of a multitude of colours. It appears to be a commentary on the different lives that people lead in urban spaces, yet how ordered and similar they appear from a distance. For all her artworks, she uses no synthetic colours or prints and instead utilises the colours of processed plastic bags to create her canvas. The discarded materials are treated through heat and pressure to create large sheets. They are mounted on a canvas, which has a base of oil paint to give the tints she requires.
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On display as part of the exhibition titled "At War With the Obvious" at Delhi's India Habitat Centre till December 4, her art pieces, priced between Rs 35,000 and Rs 100,000, will also be up for sale. The works will then travel to London, Paris and Germany in the summer of 2014, telling the world about "how she sees Delhi streets".