Ceramic collaboration

Pondicherry based ceramic artist Adil Writer met senior artist and print-maker Laxma Goud in September 2015 when the latter attended a residency at Mandala Pottery in Auroville. Writer, a partner of Mandala, was fascinated by Goud’s memories of childhood in a Telangana village and wondered how these images would appear in clay. So he gave the veteran artist a slab of clay and a needle. "As we talked, he began to draw these clean lines and figures. The vivid stories he had narrated were coming alive,” Writer told The Indian Express (IE). This led to another residency a few months later.

Photo of the two artists by Rahul Gudipudi

"In Collaboration,” the result of their unusual partnership, was exhibited at the Pundole Art Gallery in Bombay in May 2016. "The pieces are proof that it is entirely possible for two artists, with highly individual approaches and preoccupations, to create works that merge seamlessly,” reported IE. Many of the clay shields were created by Writer following a visit to Australia a year prior, while Goud’s signature motifs, a full figured nude female and a goat adorned the ceramics.
Always open to experimentation with mediums and techniques, Goud has been working with clay for the past decade. "All my work is collaborative,” he informed IE. "I do the clay work but I still need the expertise of someone who will fire the clay, because the firing technique that you use is crucial for how the work will finally look.” So when Writer proposed the collaboration, Goud enthusiastically took up the challenge.
Writer undertook the firing of Goud’s creations with his soda-firing technique as it was essential to achieve the multi-textured complexity of the final works. He explained to IE, "With gas firing, one can place the object in a kiln and get a predictable look. But with soda-firing using wood as fuel, one never knows the end result. It’s challenging, frustrating and rewarding all at once. Even the colors you use can completely change... This nude (on Shield 5) was originally painted by Goud in a bright red, but the soda vapor obliterated the red to a matte white.