ASHTANAYIKA The messengers of love

WORKING WITH STAINLESS STEEL /Personal Statement/2008

 

My maiden journey with stainless steel has ended in Steel Wonderland. 

 

In the past months I have taken a path of discovery + experimentation that was born from my initial frustration with Stainless Steel – an industrial product. 

 

To me, Stainless steel was an indestructible shiny material that – in my studio – could not be colored, cut, printed, glued, molded, sculpted or crafted without losing its form, function and beauty. 

 

Outside, in the factories & workshops of India, creating art with Stainless Steel is still a very experimental, time consuming & an expensive affair. 

 

I am a mixed media collage artist. 

I like to work with my hands and do mostly everything myself. 

I use projectors, video graphics, cameras, glass paints, holographic papers, X-acto knives and my Macbook Pro to fill and completely cover my canvas with color, images & all sorts of hidden messages. 

 

My challenge - to work with what I knew and what is new - Stainless steel.

 

My discovery of traditional double-edged safety razor blades marked the beginning of my adventure with steel. 

 

Then, molecular structures, chemical compositions, perfect reflections, minor imperfections & visual distortions became my definition of stainless steel … and a bit like life itself.

 

Since, I have obsessed about creating collages of colorful worlds with a material that is essentially one color. 

 

Reflections have been my 2nd obsession.

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Playing with diversity – steel, light, plastic, paint and paper – to mirror reality with reflections of you within my collage has been exciting. 

 

Instead of covering the canvas, I have had to uncover the steel and its mirror effect. I have had to work in reverse.

 

I hope you enjoy my work and have fun discovering the hidden messages. 

 

S. Ayesha