Dr. Bhawani Shankar

This sculpture portrays a sheep assembled from welded scrap metal components—nuts, bolts, rods, pipes, and other industrial debris. By reshaping these discarded, functional materials into a familiar organic form, the artist creates a figure whose densely layered metallic fragments mimic the woolly surface of the animal.

The body appears heavy and compact, filled with overlapping and entangled shapes, yet the hollows between the pieces allow light and air to flow through, giving it an unusual transparency. The use of blackened metal enhances its raw, industrial character, contrasting with the softness normally associated with sheep. By choosing such materials, the artist bridges the gap between nature and machine, fragility and strength, evoking questions of survival, adaptation, and the relationship between rural traditions and modern industrial society. The sheep, often seen as a symbol of innocence and nurture, here takes on a more powerful, almost monumental presence, suggesting resilience amidst fragmentation and transformation.