In a post-modernist age, where discarded stuff is proliferating within our eco-conscious and globalised culture, few are making an attempt to tell these trash narratives within the context of social, economical and political dissent. Junk to Inbox, an ongoing workshop in Delhi, is one such attempt

Walter Benjamin predicts the death of the ?aura? at the hands of mechanical reproduction in his seminal essay,?The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. However, he fails to anticipate an imperative aspect; how social implications of mechanical reproduction are manipulated to renew the ?aura?. He argues that mass reproduction corrupts the art object?s authenticity; an essential, if intangible, element of art ?that which withers in the age of mechanical reproduction is the aura of the work of art?. But what happens when the work of art is not mechanically reproduced, is not imbued with the ?aura? of originality? ?Found art? is original, but it deploys filthy and discarded materials?basically mass-produced materials. Does it then wither because it does not represent the original?

Trash provides an insight into the banalities, the unimposing and routines of daily life so we can dare to construe that they are characterised by a certain amount of authenticity or veracity. After all, discarded things are a cultural reservoir with a certain amount of special validity.?

In this post-modernist age, where discarded stuff is proliferating within our eco-conscious and globalised culture like the nouns which describe them?trash, discard, scrap, debris, rubbish, detritus, dross, garbage, scrap, junk, litter, refuse, cast-off?it is only natural that many are trying to examine the culture of trash within the economies of wealth. Tridib Dutta, Rajesh Ranjan and Debasish Das are taking concrete steps to join the canon of artists who are tackling the growing landscape of the mountains of trash of our ephemeral culture. They are part of the rebellious and disruptive art form which is making an attempt to tell these trash narratives, within the context of social, economical and political dissent.

Participating in an ongoing workshop titled Junk to Inbox being held at the Niv Art Centre in Delhi, and curated by Goan artiste Rajan Fulari, these three, independent artistes transform the ordinary and detritus of a commercial and consumer society while goading an observer to closer examination to re-evaluate its contrived beauty.

For Tridib Dutta, a sculptor from Assam, the skeletal frame of a CPU embodies the complex and very programmed society we live in this post-modern world. Disembowelling the innards of the hardware which carries out the instructions of a computer programme, he has equipped the system with an emotional characteristic. ?A computer has no sense of its own; it is an already programmed entity. Our lives have become so controlled like the machine, that I think we have lost control over our own existence,? rues Dutta. Using junk ornaments, he plans to limn out an indiscernible beauty. ?Who uses ornaments to beautify themselves? Animals don?t, only we humans indulge in them. This artwork will represent that side of humanity which is beautiful,? he says.

His other work is an ode to garbage scavengers who prowl our trash-strewn streets, who eke out a living by sorting and reselling recyclables. Using a discarded mannequin balanced on rolling wheels which once belonged to a chair, this is art in movement, symbolically representing how they scourge the scum of our planet, shifting from one place to another. ?The main idea behind this amalgamation is that one man?s trash is another man?s livelihood. This brings about a paradigm shift in our definition of waste,? says Dutta.

The beauty of the art of reclamation lies in the fact that it is accessible and rich with possibilities: there is always a story behind the object and the object itself becomes the subject, allowing the viewer to connect art to daily life. This is what Rajesh Ranjan attempts to achieve with the 15-foot high global world made out of broken toys, lamps, baskets and water cannisters??because they have seen these discarded objects in their own houses,? says Ranjan. This emerging artiste from Patna extensively uses ornament balls in his creation. To him, the circle represents the ever-changing energy that is within us and surrounds us. ?My global world symbolises the energy of freedom and this same energy, according to me, abounds within each of us. But there is bad and positive energy and how we use them is in our hands,? says the energetic artiste.

Waste has an ability to bring humanity face-to-face with a universal and perennial concern. We might inherit a future wherein people might have to survive upon land built from the discarded materials of our present world. And in this future world, how will our animals and humans survive, what shape will our energy and force take? Such a vision encourages us to speculate more deeply about what is junk and what is not; a philosophical and cultural question.

Debasish Das, who completes the trio, is trying to capture this force in his creation?a horse. He has employed discarded wooden shoe patterns to breathe life into this animal, simple and minimalistic in form. To him this animal represents force and life. ?A horse is always on its feet. It is an icon of speed, agility and movement. I also wanted to create an animal because we hear about how tigers and other species are facing the danger of extinction because of deforestation and neglect from our part,? says Das who is a working artiste at Lalit Kala Akademi. This sculptor from Kolkata, who works extensively with ceramics won a national award for an installation called the Disputable Game, a collection of ceramic sculptures depicting a matriarchal society.

The three artistes are also working on a collaborative piece, an artwork around 20 feet high, made of iron and industrial junk. This will represent the panchatantra: the five elements of life, of nature; i.e. the ecosystem. Trying to work on a systems theory model, they point out the intricate balance between these elements. Even if one is altered, all the others are affected. The dome in the middle represents the sun, its energy and its centrality to our survival as a species?the sum of all energies. The work seems to say is up to humanity to seek out and recognise the equation it has with its environment.

Most artworks of these artistes will be installed at the IGNOU campus in Delhi by June 15.