The Brown Age

Displaying her cardboard sculptures, the artist re-imagines the environment and humanity and recycles mass-produced cartons into unique, one-of-their-kind artworks

Contemporary artist and sustainable design expert Bandana Jain is presenting her recent works — inspired by the omnipresence of brown corrugated containers in our lives and crafted out of discarded delivery boxes and packaging — at the prestigious 079 Stories from December 9th to Dec 24th. Titled The Brown Age, the solo exhibition of 12+ works of art seeks to mirror a new era through the digital revolution where brown packaging became a part of almost everything we consume and create.

Functional Art by Bandana Jain, inspired from the waves of the sea

For Bandana, her love for the concept of sustainability is evident in the choice of her unconventional medium. By compiling discarded boxes and giving them a new lease of life through up-cycling and the prism of art, she advocates that the wheels of time are turning again — and after the time periods of the Stone Age, Copper Age and Iron Age — once again heralding a new era for good and for bad. Bandana calls it the Brown Age.

In the era of digitalisation, our world is getting shrunk and most of our requirements are fulfilled online and delivered to us in a box — becoming part of everything we consume. Bandana Jain coins this as the Brown Era, and mirrors her imagination through recycled cartons into art works.

“Just like other known artists, the industry started recognizing me for my works which are tactile in nature. In this show, I am showing an extension of my usual body of work in an elaborate and experimental way. All of these works are made of recycled cartons, that’s the beauty of the show. From delivery boxes for everything from food to gadgets, to playmates for children who utilize cardboard boxes as time machines in their make-believe world, a world without corrugated boxes is hard to imagine,” says artist Bandana Jain, who is also known to merge functionality into her creations, along with thoughtfulness.

Graceful Drapes

Guilty Pleasure

On showcasing empathy toward the environment through art, Bandana says, “We know this is the result of constant modification and alteration in our planet. Will we ever take accountability for our actions and take conscious efforts to make this planet a better place?