Amit Ambablal's Papier Mache

Amit Ambalal’s exquisite papier mache sculptures embody his larger philosophy of life: to remain inquisitive, playful and humorous, and to embrace life with joy, much like the canine figures that often animate his works. For him, art is an outward expression of an inner spiritual experience, something that is beyond just intellect. Belonging to an industrialist family, Ambalal spent his childhood immersed in stories of Indian mythology wherein the demarcation between reality and mythology often dissolved, and where animals mingled freely with humans. While he was expected to take over his family's business, Ambalal chose to pursue the arts and got trained under veteran artist Chhaganlal Jadav. In Ambalal's papier mache sculptures, a vibrant menagerie of animals emerge as protagonists in his artistic narratives. Inspired by the Pichwais of Nathdwara, he viewed life as Leela or divine play, where all beings, whether human or animal, are interconnected participants. His animals, from pouncing tigers to galloping dogs and leaping and brachiating monkeys are often suspended mid-action on slender rods, creating a sense of weightlessness and motion in a carnivalesque arrangement.