| Each season, Chintan Upadhyay introduces a “new model” baby—a mass-produced sculpture that intentionally mocks consumer society’s obsession with the “new.” The babies embody the artist’s alter-egos, each representing a certain mindset or personality with unique characteristics and symbolic embellishment. In Designer Baby, the child features the tattoo markings of a sun bearing a face—a symbol associated with the Mewar princely state and one of India’s landowning patrilineal clans. The cage suggests a dual need for protection and control. Upadhyay explained: “Art has become like pets. … Art is costly and needs special care and treatment. I play upon this association between pets and works of art. Perhaps, my babies have become so mischievous that they need to be caged.” 1
1Chintan Upadhyay, quoted in Sinha Praveer, “Putting heart and money into the art domain,” March 4, 2009, http://www.merinews.com/article/putting-heart-and-money-into-the-art-domain/15714416.shtml |
