Public Art Grant 2014 | Mrugen Rathod

The FICA Public Art Grant 2014 will support the project शोर (Shore): Creating conscious models for the arts in the state of Odisha by Mrugen Rathod.

The project शोर (Shore) by Mrugen Rathod was chosen by a jury consisting of artists Sharmila Samant, Gigi Scaria, Amitesh Grover, and Vidya Shivadas, Director FICA. The jury found Rathod's project conducive to creating a public dialogue about topics such as environmental degradation, local knowledge systems, and the state of the arts, in Odisha. They found his proposal to reflect his sustained interest in the site and the communities invested in it. The proposed collaborative nature of his project - with local brass craftsmen, Patachitra artists, and sand sculptors, further strengthened his case.

This project will be supported by the FICA Public Art Grant 2014 for the period of one year (April 2015 - March 2016). Upon completion of the project Rathod will make a public presentation or display of this project at FICA in New Delhi as part of Homepage 2016, FICA's annual exhibition.

The Project
शोर reads as a homonym, meaning both Noise and its reference to the sea (sea shore). In this project Rathod looks at a collaborative endeavor bringing together the traditional artists of Odisha to create consciousness about the impending degeneration of natural resources and the arts in the state; using both to actively create a substantial stand. The project will be located in the proposed sites of Bhitarkinika, Gahirmatha, Gopalpur, Chilika and Puri, and  proposes to study the intricacies beyond the apparent environmental / ecological reading. It will analyse the finer concerns of the contemporaneous situation of traditional art / handicrafts, its dynamics in a consumerist / capitalist market, politics of propaganda, disparity in sustenance measures, vigil of the society, government policies and law amongst other concerns. The project will be carried out in collaboration with Utsha Foundation for Contemporary Art, Bhubaneswar.

Mrugen Rathod has a BVA and MVA in Sculpture from the M.S.University of Baroda. His exhibition participation includes New Documents, curated by Rahul Bhattacharya, New Delhi (2011); Time Equities Inc Art-in-Buildings programme, New York; and Monster's Factory at Tank, Diesel exhibition space, Mumbai. Much of his work has been in the field during residencies and art camps; participation includes Sandharb Residency, Parthapur, Rajasthan (2009-10); OMI International Residency, Ghant, New York (2012); S.M.Sultan International Art Residency, Bangladesh (2013); and Art and Ecology Residency, Utsha Foundation, Bhubaneswar (2014). He participated in the Public Art Intensive programme by Diana Campbell, organised by Creative India Foundation and CONA, Mumbai (2013-14). Mrugen Rathod lives and works in Vadodara