High Street Phoenix is calling out all art lovers for Shruti Jhaveri’s “Fragile Terrains” Installation

High Street Phoenix is calling out all art lovers for Shruti Jhaveri’s “Fragile Terrains” Installation

A mermaid installation with a monochromatic skirt will bring the spirit of water to life

7th February - 11th March 2020, 5.pm - 9.pm

An expression of art in a form so rare that it deserves to be applauded, High Street Phoenix will unveil an art piece by bespoke paper artist Shruti Jhaveri. Beautifully titled Fragile Terrains, the installation will showcase unique paper sculptures borne out of intensive ecologically sustainable materials from the 7th of February until the 11th of March 2020. Watch on as eco-friendly paper sculptures inspired by the flow, fluidity and intricacy of underwater forms capture everyone’s attention.

Starting out 20 years ago, the artist Shruti Jhaveri is the only person in the world practicing this unique form of art creating wall sculptures out of wastepaper and has exhibited in over 25 shows across the globe including countries like Belgium, Indonesia, Korea, Dubai and New York.  With Fragile Terrains, she shares her childhood dream through an interpretation of the mythical beauty in the oceans. A monochromatic mermaid skirt showcases the spirit of the water through a realistic lens with a colour palette so strikingly beautiful that it calms you almost immediately. A wake up call to the evil of chemical waste that threatens our endangered sea creatures, Shruti’s depiction of reality under the waters is alarming. 

Inspired from the corals of the seabed, this installation is a visual creation of life’s basic principles; notions such as living in harmony, spreading positivity and inner growth amongst others. Using ecological sustainable materials, Shruti has translated all of this into eye catching coral reef formations and the mixed media sculptures on the wall depict the gorgeousness of nature; the polyp.

Mr. Rajendra Kalkar, President, The Phoenix Mills Ltd. (West) says “An immediate connect to all the beauty around us, Art is what you make of it and High Street Phoenix has always been the epicentre of expressions. What is interesting to note is that via this installation by Shruti Jhaveri, she has visually created life’s basic principles and translated them into mixed media sculptures for all to appreciate. Morever, the use of eco-friendly paper makes the installation even more unique as we divert our attention to real issues such as chemical waste reaching the seabed. I am happy that via this medium, our patrons can approach environmental issues through art”.

Born and raised in Antwerp, Belgium, she has been creating unique paper sculptures out of intensive experimenting and research. She says, “This hunger to learn has made me adapt in different situations, using the elements I studied. The love of dancing, music, has given me a skill of confidence to create, innovate and express better.” 

The process of creating the paper sculptures includes mixing and moulding wastepaper and treated adhesive to create a 3D effect on canvas. Once an artwork is fully completed and dried, Shruti sprays them with the predetermined colours as per the theme of the collection. Finally, a coating agent is used to give the artwork a protective, hardened and waterproof quality. This allows easy cleaning and maintenance. Overall, the designs look fragile and delicate while being hard and light weight at the same time.