A map to the stars, courtesy artist Tahireh Lal

‘Phototrope’ by contemporary artist Tahireh Lal is a series of installations inspired by the world around her

Inspiration can strike at any time; what is mundane for one could well be muse for another. Driving through the wildlife corridor at Kaziranga National Park, artist Tahireh Lal was captivated by the glow of reflectors dotting the road. “We see it in cities often enough but in the pitch dark of the forest, it was a strong visual spectacle, graphic in its own way. In that particular setting it was the only thing you could see, there is no other clutter,” she says.

That was in 2014, but the image remained and Tahireh began looking forward to seeing them every time she drove by. “It became an observation of life in that space, with a study of light in that rural environment. Similarities started coming up with each experience, with a common thread linking them — that is how ‘Phototrope’ came to be,” says the artist who shuttles between Bengaluru, Assam and Guwahati.

A former student of the Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology in Bengaluru, Tahireh believes that as an urban dweller moving to a rural environment, witnessing the changing of seasons makes a huge impact. “In the city we are aware of the cycles of nature, but watching flowers bloom or the river rising or the harvest being prepared on such a large scale, it becomes more real, more embedded in one’s experience. Observing my new environment and understanding what each experience is conveying is how this work has come about.”

Talking about ‘Colour Study in UV,’ exhibited at Phototrope, Tahireh says the sculptural work is an installation of electronic parts using lenses, colour gels and ultraviolet light. “It was inspired by the darkening of my husband’s eyeglasses,” laughs Tahireh, adding that the phenomenon got her looking into the photochromatic effect of lenses. “It’s a durational piece — the lights come on, pass through different coloured filters and hit the lenses, so viewers can see the variations in the photochromic lens. The entire display takes about 20 minutes.”

Her Moon installation, created from reflective material on paper, moves with the viewer, depending on their line of sight and angle of light. “There is a certain animation to the work depending on the movement of the viewer,” she says. ‘In the Twinkle of your Eye,’ comprising 44 panels, is a map of the stars visible to the human eye complete with constellations, a true-to-scale map of the night skies.

Though there is a leaning to science, there is also a bent to art and philosophy in her work. “I’m an artist and not a scientist, so I view the world through an imaginative lens that ties into the realities of our existence.”

With a background in digital video production, Tahireh began her career with video work — her piece ‘Tha’ was shown at the 2008 Videonale in Bonn. Her fascination with art and material kept growing too, and her first solo show, ‘Metaphysical Gravity’ was shown in 2014. She created geometric kolams with the red, black and white sands that washed up on the islands of Toronto where she was pursuing her art residency at the Ontario College of Art and Design.