Arun B. grew up in Kadirur, a village in Thalassery, Kannur District in Kerala, which has a deep connection with the origin of the oldest martial art Kalaripayatu–Kalari and Theyyam–with sounds of chenda, their rituals, chants, colour, dialogues, and materials that they use to create an environment. Later, when he moved to Baroda, the shift from the south of the country to the north, marked a significant shift that required observation, learning, and adaptation to a new regional and cultural reality.
Treating mornings as a sacred time for reflection and preparation, he says, “I prefer to work in the mornings. Sitting in the sunlight, I close my eyes for a few minutes—it sets the tone for my day. For me, breakthroughs usually happen during the installation process.”
Predisposed to a meditative observation of his surroundings, Arun views the interaction between materials that move in and out of the studio and his completed artworks as a potential site for further exploration. “I think about exploring mediums and not being stuck in a single process or medium.” Materiality and play are central to his practice, allowing forms to emerge that both interact with and actively shape his work.
His work explores the body as a site of encounter where vulnerability, power, fear, and empathy intersect. Through performative and interactive sculptures, he investigates how bodies relate to space and to one another when movement is guided or restricted. “Using materials and structures that suggest risk, tension, and control, I create environments that challenge comfort and demand a heightened bodily awareness.” By questioning how ritualistic symbols acquire authority over bodies and behaviour, he explores the fragile boundary between devotion and control. In creating these situations, his work deliberately blurs the line between viewer and participant, transforming spectatorship into an embodied experience.
His interest in performative practices stems from their ability to shape how individuals come to believe in and trust their identity, existence, and cultural belonging. He was introduced to fine art by the sculptor, Valsan Koorma Kolleri, whose practice has had a lasting influence on his approach to art making and artistic sensibilities.
As a resident at the fair, he takes the opportunity to think on a much larger scale than he has worked in before, through his outdoor installation. Presenting a monumental sculptural installation, he continues to navigate questions of space, balance, and human vulnerability. He will use various materials–metal armature wrapped in chicken mesh and layered with wax, to create a fifteen-feet tall, suspended human figure positioned three-feet above the ground. With the arms raised and holding a rod overhead, he captures the poised tension of an acrobat mid-act, emulating the body’s relationship with time. “Space allows for both public engagement and small material experiments that one can only know through experience,” he asserts, underscoring materiality and scale as his primary interests. Although he believes that art exists everywhere, he is drawn to moments of specificity—especially the subtle, often hidden gestures visible across architecture, everyday objects, and spatial environments.
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Arun B. was born in Kadirur, a village in Thalassery, in Kerala. His participation as an Artist-in-Residence is supported by SoulTree, and will be shown at India Art Fair 2026.
