Dhiraj Sharma’s Time Window for 2024 is an example of how how almost anything can be upcycled

Bengaluru-based Dhiraj Sharma talks about the Time Window, his latest work created for Earth Day 2024

Does your window give you the time of day? Or does your clock tell you what’s going on outside? Well, the Time Window created by Dhiraj Sharma not only tells time, but also incorporates the different types of discarded material he has been working with over the years.

Ever since 2006, Bengaluru-based Dhiraj has been using all sorts of waste material to craft one-of-a-kind works of art. “In the last 18 years, I’ve consumed more than 360 kilos of discarded items to make over 150 artefacts,” says Dhiraj, speaking from his residence in Bengaluru.

This year, for Earth Day, the founder of 8mango, an organisation that upcycles junk into usable products, created Time Window. “For this particular piece, I have incorporated bits of all the material I have used over the years — wood, metal, plastic, rubber, acrylic and so on. Over 95% of its parts were initially discarded as trash,” he says.

Dhiraj says the theme, design and aesthetic of the Time Window was inspired by the heritage architecture of Rajasthan. “If you peek inside, you will see a number of cogs and gears — I sourced the cogs from broken mechanical clocks and the gears from old automobiles such as cars and bikes.”

The Time Window is not just a decorative wall hanging; it is a functioning clock as well. “Its machinery is something I repaired too, so one can say over 90% of its components have been created from trash.”

“I usually take these materials from the scrap yard. People who know me are aware that I can make something out of the stuff they throw away, so they preserve them for me. It could be a computer mouse, bits of wire, CDs; I will use whatever is obsolete or discarded.”

Earlier this year, Dhiraj began creating trophies out of e-waste. “At the end of the day, customised trophies are manufactured products and are bought at a store, but these are one of a kind.”