Hamsavardhan and Cynthia Suzan are a Bangalore-based artiste couple. Both are ceramic potters. Together, they run 'Habitat - the ceramics shop' in the city. The outlet has on sale ceramic pottery, jewellery and objets d’art. A talk with Hamsavardhan (henceforth, Hamsa) revealed an unconventional view of the crafts market. He is a person who values his artistic freedom enough to give a go-by to the market – even when he can make a killing out of it with his unique ceramic creations.

Hamsa calls himself a ‘contemporary craftsperson’. He is an architect who ‘consciously made a decision’ to become a craftsperson as against becoming a doctor or an engineer, he says. By ‘contemporary craftsperson’, he says, he means he is not the archetypal karigar, who might be “an old man from a village – the opinionless, powerless craftsman who is not aware of his role”.

Talking to Hamsa provides a peep into the way artistes view the market for handcrafted products. In fact, there might even be an objection raised to the term ‘product’!

What happens when there is a player in the crafts market who is not a conformist? Especially, when he can offer a product that has a good demand? For a buyer, who deals in objets d’art or handicrafts and for the consumer as well, it may be interesting to see the rather unconventional approach to the market that Hamsa has. Some may  call it eccentric because he actually says `no' to money.

Perhaps the best illustration of his attitude is in an incident that he himself related. Hamsa was holding an exhibition-cum-sale of his works in Bangalore. A lady, who happened to represent a spanking new mall in Mumbai found the ceramics extremely attractive. She saw a good demand for them back at her store. But she was taken aback when Hamsa told her he did not have a catalogue or a list of his ‘products’ to offer to her. She asked him incredulously, “But don’t you want to make money?”

Hamsa has an explanation for that. He says he makes the ceramics for himself. He says, “Yes, my products here are for sale. Yes, people can buy them. But they have to take what I have made.” For, he clarifies, “I made them for myself. I made them because it gave me joy to create them.” Which is why he accepts no well-intentioned “suggestions” from his visitors at his exhibitions. In a way, that could be interpreted as a “take it or leave it” option. But there is more to it than that. Hamsa is merely defending his privilege, as a craftsperson, to artistic license. It is an approach to the market that might make dealers in arts and crafts look at creators a little differently.

While there is an appreciative clientele, Hamsa says he does not want customers to tell him to alter his work. The creations are for himself, not for the market – and this seems quite strange to businesspersons, because with a few modifications, his creations can really sell well. However, he is not willing to cater to ‘market sentiments’ because he feels that means a compromise with his work. It certainly does not mean that people should not buy his works, he says. But he will not cater to a market that says “Make 100 of A type of pots and 200 of the B type.”

Hamsa held an exhibition in Bangalore recently with the theme Architecture Fired. He said it was a departure from his usual work. It was about the nexus between architecture and ceramics. It was about examining architecture and it was also about the role of ceramics (that happen to be ‘fired’). The exhibits were cryptic to the uninitiated. He says, “If you understand it, fine. If you don’t, then too it is fine.”

Talking about handcrafted products, Hamsa makes a distinction between real art and market art. ‘Mass produced handicrafts’ itself is a contradiction in terms, he feels. Instead of blindly repeating ‘art’, what is more important is to produce something that is original, even if it is not good, he says. Then does that mean that there should be no ‘contemporarisation’ of crafts? Does it mean then that crafts should not be modified to cater to a market? After all, that does involve mean mass production. He says, yes, if livelihoods of craftspersons are involved, then this is okay. But in most situations, the middlemen get the money and not the craftsperson. The creator has already lost connection with what he creates – he sees no meaning in creating any more. This is especially so in case of terracotta. What the market has, what the dealers buy, and what the consumers get is kitsch that is sold as art.

He says, “I do not want a big demand for what I make. Yes, there might be a large number of buyers for what I make. But just I and my wife cannot cater to it. But that is a small reason. More importantly, I do not want to just ‘manage’ my craft, I want to create it. I will always want to be involved with my work. And yes, this freedom does not come easy. It comes at a price and I am willing to pay for it. Some people may think we are mad!”

Currently, Hamsa and Cynthia are working on an installation with the theme ‘Dinner is Served’ along with another artist. The ceramic part of the installation will be their contribution. They are both working for starting The Guild Shop – an outlet where products of The Guild, an artistes’ collective, will be on sale. The shop will have textiles, ceramics, handmade paper and clothes. Also on the cards is an exhibition of their work in Bombay. They have also on the anvil a project at the Windsor Manor in Bangalore, a food display done up exclusively in ceramics.