GearBox

Jiten Thukral and Sumit Tagra

The artist duo talk about travel, favourite art cities and their new projects

Manek S. Kohli

OT What are your favourite destinations

T&ampT We have been showcasing across the world, so it is all exciting. But if we have to pick some place, it would be Tokyo because there they show respect to everything, whether it is good or bad. In India, honestly, art is the least appreciated because it is always looked at as a hobby and never taken seriously. In London, youll see a lot of things and in New York, there are many contemporary galleries.

OT Most of your art projects are interactive. Whats the idea behind that

T&ampT We want to create an immersive environment where one interacts with the space, the ceiling, the heights, and all these things become really important. People experience the project and, at the same time, create or finish the work of art within that atmosphere.

OT During the recent India Art Fair, you asked people to write down a memory, shred it and cast it into a cement tile as part of your Memoir Bar project. What was the thought process

T&ampT We were working on this idea If you hold on to an object for a really long time, how do your emotions translate into it So, we are talking about how little things go beyond their materiality. We wanted to show how the idea of nostalgia can be illustrated.

OT Is there any venue or city where you would love to hold an exhibition

T&ampT Definitely. Victoria and Albert Museum in London and MoMA in New Yorkthese places are very exciting.

OT Does travel inspire your art

T&ampT See, we wouldnt literally go to Paris and get inspired by the Eiffel tower. But yeah, theres, say, the smell of the placeour projects are actually moulded according to the space. We wouldnt call it inspiration, but contextualising is very important.

OT The Illuminated River International Design Competition saw you light up a London bridge. Could you tell us more about it

T&ampT We were given the historical Vauxhall Bridge. For us, it was visualised as the spine of a book which looks into the past and the future of the bridge. The water and the bridge have a love story, so the entire project showcases the bridge as the man and the water as the woman. The traveller, too, is a part of the project because his footprint counts and changes the hue of the light on the bridge.

OT Whats next for you guys

T&ampT We are going to Hong Kong this March to do a project called Bread, Circuses and Wi-Fi. The project includes a performance where a guy is sitting in the gallery and you can call him using a Wi-Fi router. Its a take on call centres.

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