'12 bed ward', Art of an experiencist

It would be no exaggeration to say that Vivan Sundaram, who passed away on Wednesday, was not just at the forefront of contemporary visual arts but ahead of that forefront. A standard obituary would not do justice to someone so influential for so many and considered as 'the artist's artist'. So, instead, a tribute that focuses on one of Sundaram's works - in our book, his most unsettling and powerful work - the 2005 installation, '12 Bed Ward', (photo above) will have to do.

A low-lit room holding a dozen iron bed frames where, instead of mattresses, shoe soles are placed reverentially - and, literally, captivatingly - between a mesh. On first glance, the space looks like a memory of a tragedy, a grim memorial. But all context being stripped, it could be remains of a hospital ward, a prison camp, an army mess.... The soles and the bed frames and the room are all Sundaram says. '12 Bed Ward' shows why Sundaram was no mere artist but an experiencist.