Australian artist Elliot Bastianon has teamed up with Punjab-based master coppersmith Hari Krishan for a new exhibition bringing contemporary sculpture together with India’s traditional Thathera metalworking craft.
Titled Analogue and Alchemy, the exhibition combines Bastianon’s contemporary sculptural practice with hand-crafted copper and brass work created through the UNESCO-recognised Thathera tradition.
The collaboration brings together two different approaches to making art, with contemporary Australian sculpture meeting a North Indian metalworking practice passed down through generations.
The exhibition also draws attention to the continued importance of traditional craft at a time when many specialist forms of handmade production face pressure from changing markets and industrial manufacturing.
Through the partnership, Bastianon and Krishan have created work that connects contemporary artistic practice with the skills and techniques of a historic craft tradition.
The collaboration forms part of wider cultural links between Australia and India, while giving audiences an opportunity to see how traditional techniques can be incorporated into new artistic work.
The Thathera craft tradition is associated with the hand-making of copper and brass utensils and objects in Punjab. Its recognition by UNESCO has helped draw international attention to the skills and cultural knowledge associated with the craft.
Analogue and Alchemy presents the partnership between Bastianon and Krishan as an exchange between artists working across different cultural and artistic traditions.
The exhibition demonstrates how international creative collaborations can create new work while continuing to support traditional skills and the communities that preserve them.
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