City-based Harsha Durugadda has won the 'Emerging Artist - South Asia 2022-23' award instituted by The Arts Family (TAF) in London for his exceptional contemporary sculptures.
In a bid to encourage artists from South Asia and create new connections and platforms for showcasing their art, the London-based NGO invited entries (open-call) from eligible artists for the prestigious prize. The Hyderabad-based multidisciplinary artist’s series of works in wood was declared the best among 1000 entries.
"It was a proud moment for me," beams Harsha. "I am thrilled to connect to the global community of artists, gallerists, writers, curators and collectors in contemporary and modern arts in London.”
The various wood sculptures, titled ‘Sound of Rain’, ‘Tensor Field’ and ‘Mirage’, represent respectively, the sound of the first drops of rain when they hit the ground, the state of tension when life is dependent on only one aspect for not collapsing, and how illusions change on the basis of perspective. Harsha's body of work and past achievements also influenced his win.
Harsha submitted only the soft copies (images) of the three sculptures, along with a concept note, to the jury. He was declared winner following the jury review and an interview session. Soon, Harsha will ship the three sculptures to London for an art exhibition to be organised by TAF by the end of this year.
Some of his earlier sculptures have helped him earn international recognition. ‘Column of Sound’, exploring the visual dynamics of an audio wave, brought him the Rio Tinto Sculpture Award at the 2017 Sculpture by the Sea, Cottesloe exhibition in Australia. ‘Selfish Love’ won him the Biafarin Award at NordArt 2018 in Germany.
The youngster says most of his art works have been inspired by Nature. "My art is a reflection of the lifestyle choices I make. I derive ideas from Nature or people around me and then give it an artistic makeover,” he explains.
Harsha, who used to work in the heart of the city, relocated to the outskirts a few years ago. He built a sustainable house on an acre of land near Chilkur. The premises includes a state-of-the-art sculpture studio. He also started his own permaculture farm. "I am a lot more at peace," he shares. "The lush, green farmland around me provides me with stability and forces me to act purposefully, which I believe is the key to my creativity. As a result, I gained fresh perspectives on life that aided in the creation of art. I used to be really self-centred, but now I'm more relaxed," he adds.
Harsha always aspired to be a "resilient artist," someone who could rely on other fields for both inspiration and sustenance. "Both can even co-exist," he says, citing how he has taken up permaculture and performance arts in addition to sculpting. “Being close to Nature enables me to find inspiration for my permaculture way of life. I periodically travel to tiny villages in the interior to gain deeper insights into life," he says.
When we asked him how sculpture had affected his life, he replied that it had massively increased his sensitivity. It had helped him become more aware of his way of life and encouraged him to engage with empathy, he added
Talking of the impact of the award, he said, “Awards give you certain legitimacy and more freedom in the way you express your thoughts.” He also sees a general increase in the weightage given to art post the pandemic.
Harsha feels India has the potential to generate more art stories, given its diversity. "Culturally our country is very rich, and the world wants to be diverse. So I feel the diversity we have is what we have to represent rather than emulating Western art. Let's bring something that's ours to the world," he says.
