Mavericks at Work

Artists Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra,famously known as T and T,are inspired by their colourful Punjabi upbringing and the eclectic environment of the country. In town as part of the National Art Week on New Media courtesy the Lalit Kala Akademi,the two presented their works and acquainted the audience with the art they have practiced for the past ten years. From students of art at the city’s College of Fine Arts to working as communication designers to being brand ambassadors of new media art,Thukral and Tagra have come a long way.

“We have been lucky to be live at a time when the internet has opened doors and portals for artists. We got hands-on experience from our parents who are artists and also the opportunity to exploit the technical intervention,” they say. Although they surfed the new wave,Tagra feels art has always been about creating something new and finding its own movement,like the quirky BoseDK project and the research project on HIV Aids,Put it On that they have started. In fact,the two have started the Thukral and Tagra Foundation with a focus on HIV. “We are aiming at a support system and scholarships for students of art,” says Thukral while Tagra enlightens us on the All India Flip Flop movement. “This movement is about how to get people to wear condoms and practice safe sex. That’s when the idea of designing and printing messages on flip flops and tees came in,” they say.

Their work is enhanced by the visual dialogue between the two. “We can read each other’s thoughts and complete each other’s sentences. We have this telepathic interactions but we are ruthless critics of our works too,” they say.

The slideshow moves on and comes to a halt at what they call Punjabi Baroque. “It was an apt title given by architect,artist,writer Gautam Bhatia and it stuck,” they say. It deals with Punjab’s NRI obsession,the incessant brain drain dealing with the cause and effect of racism in Australia,intricate webs of social networks,trophy children,dream houses in villages—elements that are part of the Punjabi dreamscape.

Their new work is also a witty take on burgeoning consumerism,“the Disneyfied,McDonaldised,shopaholic-ridden mall world” as Thukral puts it. “It’s called ‘Overdose,Overcooked,Overcast,” adds Tagra. Now that their work is receiving rave reviews,Thukral and Tagra see their travels as an interesting artistic opportunity. “People abroad still see India from the perspective of Slumdog Millionaire which irks us no end. We are not a land of stray animals and poverty,” they say.

But how to go about presenting India in a new light? “When we go abroad,we automatically become brand ambassadors of our country. We took this idea of empty frames and a wall full of stickers,each representing something essential to India and its culture. We left the room open for people and children to fill these frames and know more about India.”