Wolf

Artistic duo, Wolf’s, rendezvous with art began back in 2004, while creating a concept hospitality project in Jaipur. Called The Farm, it started out as ‘an eclectic art hotel’, later blooming into the ‘Wolf playground’, and now runs as an artist residency and the Wolf Studio. Their art is about morphing old things into new. Reimagining scrap with a creative eye. ‘We had stores full of old things from our ancestral place, which we repurposed in all kinds of ways, and along with that, made trees from the scrap left over from construction. We’ve been dreaming up forests ever since.’ Their brand new show is called Song to Self, in collaboration with Baro Market at Method Kala Ghoda. They tell us all about it.  

How did you come about making scrap, the core sensibility of your practice?
From the very beginning, when we started to make objects for ourselves at The Farm, we had decided that we must use things that other people throw away. This thought came to us partly because of the fact that we inherited stores full of many things, many of which would be thrown away by most people, and also because it seemed the right thing to do — to not use new materials. These objects always come with this beautiful patina of stories and in a sense, it is a new life that they take on with a completely different identity. This process is most exciting, seeing them in a new light!

Can you talk a little about the collaborative journey you’ve had with Baro Market?
Srila and Baro have really been the voice for Wolf, not only because she gets the headspace and understands how we tick, but also, and more importantly, she really does tell our stories better than we do! Our collaboration started with Baro’s opening, and since then, we are now a week away from our eighth show together. From shows at Baro itself to an experiential show during JLF2018 (Jaipur Literature Festival), gardens from scrap and discards in large outdoor spaces and the Kochi Biennale in 2018, it's all been with Srila by our side. She has been involved with the arts for such a long time, and to have her guide us through this journey, especially since we are outsider artists, has been our good fortune indeed. I call Srila my Durga!

What inspired Song to Self?
Lalla, or Lal Ded, is definitely the anchor for Song to Self, but the inspiration came from journeying within. The benefits of time spent with one’s own self, getting to know yourself, tuning in to the songs within us and to listen really. It was also the notion of ’seeing sounds’ that got us excited. And then, in a sense, Song to Self became visual translations of some of Lalla’s Vakhs.

Do you have a creative process?
Our creative process starts with what we find with the kabadiwalas, and how that object can find its way into the story. We dream of gardens and forests, and that’s the first criteria — will it make it to a forest/ tree/ flower. For this show, we found metal scrap from a wire mesh factory. We were like two children in a candy store, we could visualise the forest immediately. This scrap became all the foliage in Spine Groove, which speaks of the importance of being in nature. We are always on the lookout for flea markets wherever we go, and this show has objects from travels in Kashmir and Greece. And it isn’t limited to objects we buy, but also things picked up on trails — pinecones have become the many serpents in My Own Secret and snail shells have found their way into the tablets of Utterances, as have insects, dried flowers, bones, found around us at The Farm or during travels.

What inspires you as artists?
Nature has been our best teacher and the greatest inspiration. Nature and the idea of ‘play’, to indulge in something that gives you nothing in return! We like to tell stories of hope and dream of a better world. We hope our stories are able to move people within, and so, inspiration comes in many forms — an image, a song, a person, an experience, but ultimately, it all gets linked back to nature or ‘play' in some form or the other.

Lastly, is there anything else in the pipeline.
Srila leads the way and we follow. We have a show at the end of this year with Baro again, and then we’ll embark on new travels in the head for our annual Diwali time Baro show.
 

Text Hansika Lohani Mehtani
Date 05-10-2022