Sumeet Singh qualified as an electronics and telecommunication engineer, has fervor for photography. Sumeet developed a unique methodology to produce the photographs shown in the current show. He began working with found objects ‘glass bottles’ and their characteristically vivid color palette. Sumeet says the ‘the bottles have a way with color, so I was trying to get that in my work.’ He developed an affinity for the material and simplified forms. He however, wanted to carve out an aesthetic identity that went beyond the overt visual effect of real objects. Sumeet powerfully aware of the alarming pace of degradation and exploitation of the form began engaging glass to create his art. He then coalesced an earlier interest in material with urban aesthetics and concern for form.

To achieve the desired effect, Sumeet applies pure pigments and then exposes them to the elements on the roof of his studio. He aids it through various methods and adds raw pigments to produce compositions of rich surface textures and colors, which work both as sculptures and painted relief. The vivid colors and soft textures contrast with the cold materiality of the glass; the effects of the nurturing and life giving elements of nature contrast with grittiness of the bottle. All combine to create a powerful abstract language. The receding and thrusting rectilinear segments are bound together by rivets that serve to accentuate its elegant surfaces.

The photographs are mysteriously representational, and are composed of both celestial and topographic images that reflect an awe of naturally occurring phenomena and the transforming power of simple materials. The strong emphasis on the construction of the compositions, as well as coloration of the glass, blurs the boundary between painting, sculpture and photography. Sumeet’s photographs sustain a fine, fierce eloquence and are unique in terms of their technical proficiency and conceptual ideology.

- Abhijeet Gondkar, February 2009, Mumbai.

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