In the driver’s seat

“I’m excited by mechanical and kinetic works that a viewer can interact with but I try not to let technology overawe me,” says the 35-year-old artist,who’s just back from the Interaction Design Institute Ivrea in Italy. “I’m interested in evoking that sense of magic one feels when a work of art can react to a viewer—it creates an element of drama. Rawat works with hidden sensors that create motion in his sculptural pieces when a viewer steps into their range. Curator Alka Pande has put this show together and Rawat is showcasing his work alongside animator Akshay Rathore,painter Rajita Schade,diaspora artist Siri Khandavilli and graphic designer Ayesha S. The five artists have responded to the Benz and created their interpretations of it.

Rawat,who studied graphic design at the National Institute of Design in Ahmdabad has been working on the cusp of interactive design and fine art since the late ‘90s and been influenced by the 1960s Germany based group,the Fluxes Movement,that were known for unconventional methods of art making.

Rawat has also made a set of mixed medium collage works,priced between Rs 2.7 lakhs and 3 lakhs.