Drawing Room: Why Tehmeena Firdos loves Vivan Sundaram’s installations

Vivan Sundaram’s 12 Bed Ward, is sparse, simple, but haunting. Is this an abandoned hospital, a forgotten dorm, a bombed-out base or something more familiar?

Vivan Sundaram’s work explores so many different mediums. I believe he builds meaningful conversations with any object he chooses and personalises it to him and his artistic practice. His works are largely concerned with social issues that affect most of us. I wonder how he manages to create a language that is so uniquely his own, even while being relatable on so many levels.

Vivan Sundaram’s 2008 work, Fly, seems eerily familiar to visual artist Tehmeena Firdos. (VIVAN SUNDARAM)

Tehmeena Firdos saw the 2005 installation, 12 Bed Ward, in 2018, at a retrospective dedicated to Vivan Sundaram.

12 Bed Ward is a life-size installation fashioned out of steel, string, and the soles of old shoes. (IMAGE COURTESY CHEMOULD PRESCOTT ROAD AND VIVAN SUNDARAM)

Vivan Sundaram’s works are largely concerned with social issues, says Tehmeena Firdos. (VIVAN SUNDARAM)