Who’s a good boy?
Collection:UAL Art Collection
Date: 2022
Artist: Shaanthi Rajah (British)
Dimensions:
67 x 48 x 45cm
Medium: Steel, enamel paint, bronze
Object number: UAC 1080
DescriptionShaanthi studied BA Sculpture at Camberwell College of Arts. She says:
'I seek to challenge the emotional values placed on items encountered in our daily lives, by incorporating them into my sculptural practice. In transforming objects that are not ‘worth’ significant monetary value, but are valuable because of our relationships to them fostered by nostalgia, I confront perceptions of how we aesthetically revalue everyday items.
My practice is an expression of nostalgia, explored by creating playful sculptures that reference my childhood and mixed-cultural identity as a ‘third culture kid’. These elements of identity are sources of inspiration within multiple aspects of my practice, with challenges in my work rooted in how best to translate and communicate these into accessible physical formats. Through a light-hearted interpretation of materials, I also endeavour to question the language expressed through sculpture, heightened by a playful approach of creating inherently flexible rearrangeable structures.
I seek the potential to transform the value recognisable items by manipulating their functional features in search of aesthetic qualities. In pursuit of this, my artworks feature overlooked objects which have been converted into archival materials, such as bronze and silicone casts. For example, placement of household vegetables (bok choy) and traditional Chinese knots within the sculptures further hint at the work being grounded in my heritage, deepened by the implied permanence through the form of bronze casts.
At the forefront of my practice, I showcase manipulation of materials and a feeling of function - ready for whatever associations individuals may attach. The sculptures I create reference urban structures and environments, which appear ‘ready-for-use’ and are suggestive of action and functionality but have no intrinsic purpose and are subversive of any intention.'
'I seek to challenge the emotional values placed on items encountered in our daily lives, by incorporating them into my sculptural practice. In transforming objects that are not ‘worth’ significant monetary value, but are valuable because of our relationships to them fostered by nostalgia, I confront perceptions of how we aesthetically revalue everyday items.
My practice is an expression of nostalgia, explored by creating playful sculptures that reference my childhood and mixed-cultural identity as a ‘third culture kid’. These elements of identity are sources of inspiration within multiple aspects of my practice, with challenges in my work rooted in how best to translate and communicate these into accessible physical formats. Through a light-hearted interpretation of materials, I also endeavour to question the language expressed through sculpture, heightened by a playful approach of creating inherently flexible rearrangeable structures.
I seek the potential to transform the value recognisable items by manipulating their functional features in search of aesthetic qualities. In pursuit of this, my artworks feature overlooked objects which have been converted into archival materials, such as bronze and silicone casts. For example, placement of household vegetables (bok choy) and traditional Chinese knots within the sculptures further hint at the work being grounded in my heritage, deepened by the implied permanence through the form of bronze casts.
At the forefront of my practice, I showcase manipulation of materials and a feeling of function - ready for whatever associations individuals may attach. The sculptures I create reference urban structures and environments, which appear ‘ready-for-use’ and are suggestive of action and functionality but have no intrinsic purpose and are subversive of any intention.'