Sumit Tagra and Jiten Thukral on pop art, funky designs and dream machines that workFrom projecting Indian homes inspired by Western architecture on canvas at the Tokyo Art Fair in April, to stopping over at Zurich in May for the promotion of the Puma reality bag, which features their illustrations along with creations by 100 artists from world over, and in June showcasing aspirations of young Indians desperate for a passage to America at the Basel Art Fair. It’s clear. Artists Jiten Thukral and Sumit Tagra are deluged with work. “A lot is happening and several projects are underway,” assures Tagra, as he plugs a Mac at the duo’s studio in Gurgaon. Seated comfortably on a leather chair next to him, Thukral nods, as they discuss specifics of upcoming shows. They provide us a sneak into them on their workstation, from where pop art-meets-funky designs are transported to canvases, installations and videos.“We first design a creation on the computer and then make them physically,” says Tagra. “Both of us improvise on each other’ ideas,” Thukral smiles.Not too long ago, the two improvised on each other’s dreams for the exhibition Somnium Genero02 (dream catcher) that took place in April at Gallery Barry Keldoulis in Waterloo. Painted in sky-blue backdrop, the semi-autobiographical canvases in the series had dream machines surrounded with typical T&T (Thukral and Tagra) clouds and floral patterns, with the artists themselves also finding place in some of the creations. “The series is close to our heart since it depicts our own dreams and memories,” smiles Tagra. Pointing at a golden rim dream machine on a canvas, Thukral says excitedly, “We are working with psychiatrists towards creating an actual wearable machine that can portray dreams by reading thoughts. The one who wears it can see his dreams on a screen.” The talk of dreams leads to nostalgia and the two recall their first meeting — when Thukral ragged Tagra in college. Tagra was standing in the queue at the Chandigarh Art College, waiting to apply for a course there. Thukral, who was a student at the college, walked up to him, pretending to be an applicant. Few years on, the two met again at the Delhi College of Art and friendship struck, giving form to the moniker ‘Bosedk’ in 2003. “It happened over drinks with friends. We thought of designing stuff together. It sounded fun,” recalls Tagra. The Bosedk factory has since then been churning tees with funky one-liners riffed on Punjabi abuses and had even collaborated with Benetton for a collection. They were introduced to the world of canvases by Peter Nagy, who held an exhibit of Bosedk vinyl wallpaper and shirts stuffed in jars, in his gallery Nature Morte. After the exhibit, the connoisseur urged them to paint their thoughts on boards larger than those they had been working on. They not just heeded his advice, but have also moved on to working with different mediums and on varied themes, many of them with social relevance. They’ve tackled consumerism, for instance, by creating mock malls with shelves stacked with fake products and paintings with quirky titles like “discontinue use if irritation occurs”. They’ve also attempted to exhort safe sex through the exhibit “Put It On” at New York’s Bose Pacia gallery. The duo’s efforts have paid off. In November last year, their canvas, Somnium Genero, was sold for Rs 1.5 crore at Christie’s sale of Asian Contemporary Art in Hong Kong. “We are happy with the response but one needs to note that the auction prices are not real market indicators,” observes Thukral matter-of-factly. Cut to the future and the two hope to take their past projects forward. Like depicting consumer culture once again with a thirty-feet-long installation at an exhibition in London, slated to take place in November. In Tokyo, they will give a sneak-peak into houses inspired by European architecture dotting neighbourhoods in north India. And then, the duo has set up the T&T Foundation to spread the awareness of HIV in art colleges and provide scholarships to students. “Though our research for Put it On was based on India, not many Indians actually saw our works, so we will organise a traveling exhibition in the country,” notes Tagra.Designing may have taken a backseat, but Bosedk hopes to add fizz to Pepsi as their designs will be put on its cans world over. “The approval has already come from the Pepsi office in New York and the cans should be out in the market in a couple of months,” notes Thukral. Any comparisons with American artist Andy Warhol? “We grew up looking at his works. There is still a long way to go,” say T&T, in unison.
