Art at its Best

Shruti Suttati was good at paper cutting. But that wasn’t an idea good enough to display at the graduation show. She thought hard about doing something else,but kept coming back to the idea of paper cutting. Finally,she pitched the idea of working on a 100 ft long roll of paper to display her handiwork titled A Million Cuts. But she had no idea how difficult it was going to be. “The cuts are made with a pocket knife. When I reached 70 ft,there were times when I wanted to give up but my classmates kept me going. Our Founder told me that he won’t display anything less than 100 ft,which meant that I did not have the option of giving up. Some days,I worked on this project for 10 hours at a stretch,” says Suttati. The roll of paper was draped on a stand like the display of elaborate saris at a showroom.

Toy Story

Titled Itsy-Bitsy,Anshul Sarin’s project was a showcase of photographs shot with macro lens. A fan of toys,Sarin made make-believe construction sites with his collection of toy construction site workers in a garden. While one photo depicted a scene in which the toy workers were trying to lift a huge can of an aerated drink from the ground with the help of a toy crane,another featured them using tiny torches to help them see while digging up a construction site at night. A favourite in the photography section was the photograph of construction workers building a structure using sugar cubes as bricks.

Mirrored Image

Harshal Agrawal worked on two canvases,creating a bridge,a tree and some other figures identical to one another. The backdrop of one canvas was day and,in the other,night. She hung them both at an angle,with two mirrors between them. For the final touch,she placed a doormat a few feet from the painting but at a 90 degree angle from the mirrors. “When one stands on the doormat,one does not see two paintings,but a single painting which transforms from night to day. Everyone thinks that night depicts sadness and loneliness,but I believe that only by experiencing true sadness can someone experience true happiness. My painting depicts a journey from night to day. It is a journey of life,in which only after experiencing sorrow,one experiences joy,” says Agrawal.

Fantasy Fashion

The students went backstage to style the models who walked the ramp in Jaya Mishra’s pret collection titled Mid Summer Night’s Dream. They got hands-on experience in transforming the models into fantasy characters. Mishra’s collection featured colourful resort wear including kaftan dresses,crop tops paired with slim-fit pants and swimwear cover-ups. Later in the night,she showcased another club wear-based collection featuring little black dresses with gold detailing.