Electronic scrap turned into experimental art

Discarded electronic scrap from city dumps, roadsides, and thrift shops have found their way into the reclaimed and green-design works of artist Haribaabu Naatesan. Known for turning trash into art, an upcoming solo show will present his works here.

A graduate of Chennai’s College of Fine Arts and the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Naatesan will exhibit his works created from an assemblage of electronic scrap and other found objects, at Equilibrium: An Irreversible at the Art Positive gallery here from Wednesday.

With a powerful message on environmental conservation, the show will bring to viewers art created from floppy disks, cassette tapes, hard disks and other discarded electronics.

“I am intrigued by the spontaneity and ambiguity of found materials. I enjoy the inventiveness necessary to transform them into artwork. I use materials that are reclaimed, things with a history that have been discarded and might otherwise end up in landfills,” the artist said in a statement.

His “green design” works involves design—a ‘reprocess’ of the waste materials around us—and art to sensibly putting things into places to give a meaning to the creation, the gallery said.

Naatesan’s aesthetic finds come from city dumps, roadsides, and thrift shops, including the Sunday bazaar in Ahmedabad.

“He sees sculptures in scraps and conjures art from discarded hardware and the resulting artworks, be it the

A number of great artists such as Pablo Picasso and Henry Matisse among others made several art books in their lifetime. This exhibition is a good reminder of that and makes people familiar with this little-known form.

‘Crab’, ‘Carrus’, ‘Lady bug’, ‘Cyber War’, ‘Automotive’, ‘Nandi’ or the ‘NH 27’,” gallerist Anu Bajaj said of some of his sculptural works.

The formula “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” will see a visually appealing application in the arts.

The show is open for public till March 5