-By Ms Kabita Manjari Tanty
In contemporary Indian art, where artists negotiate between tradition and modernity, Subham Sahu has developed a distinctive practice rooted in memory, landscape, and indigenous knowledge. His works of art are not merely visual objects but immersive experiences that reconnect viewers with the land, its people, and their cultural heritage. Using terracotta, reclaimed wood, leather, bamboo, palm roots, and sound, Sahu transforms everyday materials into narratives that preserve endangered traditions while expanding the possibilities of contemporary sculpture. Born and brought up in Talpatia village in Odisha’s Jharsuguda district, Sahu draws deeply from the environment that shaped his childhood. The village, named after its abundant palm trees, remains the emotional and conceptual foundation of his work. The sounds of rustling palms, cattle bells, folk songs, and seasonal rituals continue to influence his artistic language. Rather than treating these memories as nostalgia, he transforms them into universal reflections on identity, belonging, and humanity’s relationship with nature.
His installation Echoes of Memory exemplifies this vision. Created with terracotta animal forms, reclaimed wooden bells, leather, bamboo, and palm roots, the work recreates the fading soundscape of western Odisha. The wooden bells, collected from districts such as Kandhamal, Sundargarh, Sambalpur, Nuapada, Dhenkanal, and Rayagada, once accompanied livestock through forests and villages. As these sounds disappear from everyday life, Sahu reimagines them as poetic symbols of memory, continuity, and cultural loss. The installation invites viewers to reflect on how ordinary objects preserve history and collective experience.
A significant aspect of Sahu’s practice is the revival of the Humbo (Tohne), a ceremonial wind instrument traditionally played by the Kisan community during marriage rituals. Originally crafted from wild buffalo horn, the instrument gradually disappeared after restrictions on its use. During his Lalit Kala Akademi National Research Fellowship (2024), Sahu researched and recreated the instrument in terracotta. When performed before villagers, its sound revived a forgotten cultural memory and inspired community members to learn the craft, ensuring its transmission to future generations.
His ongoing project, Sound from the Ground, further explores western Odisha’s intangible heritage by documenting folk songs, oral histories, environmental sounds, and indigenous musical traditions. Through field recordings and sculptural installations, Sahu creates living archives that preserve cultural knowledge while encouraging audiences to listen to the voices embedded within landscapes and communities.
A graduate of Kalayatan College of Art and Craft, Sundargarh, and the Faculty of Fine Arts, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Sahu has participated in the Kochi Student Biennale, Future in Formation (FICA and Serendipity Arts Foundation), the Khoj–Arthshila Residency, and the Lalit Kala Akademi National Research Fellowship.
Subham Sahu’s work demonstrates that sculpture can be more than an aesthetic object—it can become a living archive. By bringing together material, sound, research, and community participation, he preserves endangered traditions while opening meaningful conversations on memory, ecology, identity, and cultural resilience.
Ms Kabita Manjari Tanty
Independent Art writer and curator
Assistant professor, School of Design Media and Creative Arts,
Jain (Deemed to be University)
Bengaluru
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