Pulp Fiction

Papier-mâché,Pitre says,is a lot like life. “It is a robust and spontaneous medium. The reason I say it’s forgiving is because it behaves like,say,soft wood,” she says,“I could be ready with a figurine but may not be able to connect with it. The medium allows me to rebuild it,perhaps with a different head this time. The readied figurines always have a veneer of roughness,which makes them synonymous with the nature of life.”

Pitre’s subjects,likewise,are the uncelebrated. “I have not been able to go beyond my surroundings still. I notice the young female traffic cop on the streets,the bai,the istriwallah,among others,and can’t help but take notice of their idiosyncratic mannerisms,” admits Pitre. She says,“It has been my endeavour to feature the unsung in my works. During my formative years in Mumbai,I saw the chawl way of life. Therefore,I may choose to sculpt a typical housewife standing in the chawl balcony. The fluidity of her actions tell the viewers her story.”

Storytelling through sculptures is what Pitre is making her forte. “Earlier,I used to work with individualistic figures. Later I started weaving figures into a story,in which they may share a common action,” says Pitre. “For instance,in the work The Kitty Party Group,the three women at the table are represented by a pigeon,a hen and a goat. Finding commonalities between human and animal behaviour is also of special interest to me. Therefore,I often tend to represent things intrinsically human through animals,” she says.

rushil.dutta@expressindia.com