The artful twists of bamboo

The human race may be guilty of many things. Corruption, greed, violence name the vices, and we could be held culpable for them all. However, one thing we have been steadfastly generous about is setting aside a day in our annual calendars for every living/non-living being that exists on planet Earth. From World Sleep Day, World Idli Day, to International Moment of Frustration Scream Day, humans have not left anything behind, ignored, or cast away. Today happens to be the humble Bamboos turn in the limelight. Its World Bamboo Day, celebrated to raise global awareness about the important role that bamboo plays in environmental protection. It is also an attempt to encourage the use of bamboo in our daily lives. Art has always been associated with this unassuming plant that often grows as wild as an artists imagination. The earliest known use of bamboo in Indian art can be traced back to the Indus Valley civilisation, when it was used to make intricate objects and furniture. However, it was primarily in China and Japan that bamboo craft gradually evolved into fine art. Bamboo carving, which originated in China, evolved into an art form in the middle of the Ming Dynasty. Bamboo stalks became a popular subject in paintings over time and a genre of its own in East Asian art. Ink was used to demonstrate the artists mastery, and the image of the bamboo stalks with leaves was always accompanied by a poem. The reason why the bamboo plant was such an obsession with East Asian artists back then was primarily because it was seen as a symbol of courage and endurance. It was even said of the 11th-century painter Wen Tong that there are whole bamboos in his heart. Today, contemporary artists have taken the versatile bamboo out of the definitions of craft and painting muse and use it in myriad ways to make sculptures and installations. Japanese artist Noriyuki Saitoh is known for his intricate sculptures of insects using bamboo. Meticulously carving the delicate wings of a dragonfly or the tiny legs of a beetle, the artist transforms bamboo into something unbelievably beautiful. Indonesian artist Firman Djamil produces most of his immersive sculptural installations using bamboo. In 2006, he created the work Bamboo Tunnel, resembling a traditional fish trap, and placed it in the forests of South Korea as a passageway that filtered air and sunlight. It was the need to strike a balance between the modern world and the fast-disappearing natural world that he wished to address through this work. And what better material than bamboo to make the point? The bamboo installation by Indian artist Asim Waqif at the fifth Kochi Biennale was a monumental 20-foot structure that stood at the intersection between art, architecture, and environmental concerns. The work titled Improvise, which had musical instruments and even a swing, was to drive home the message of the relevance of traditional technologies and materials. Bamboo may bend. But it seldom breaks. And a day is simply not enough to celebrate this strength. May these artworks serve as reminders through the years!