The India Art Fair 2026 in New Delhi witnessed a groundbreaking exhibition that left a deep impact on its visitors. Artist Girjesh Kumar Singh took center stage with his innovative sculptures crafted from an unusual material — bricks. These discarded bricks, salvaged from demolished homes and buildings, became the medium through which Singh explored themes of loss, nostalgia, and the impermanence of places.
Singh’s exhibit, titled Haal Mukaam: Current Address, captured the essence of life’s fleeting nature. The artist collects bricks from demolished structures and transforms them into sculptures that tell stories of forgotten homes, broken pasts, and memories embedded in every piece. For Singh, the brick is more than just a material; it is a metaphor for the impermanence of life and the ever-changing nature of physical spaces.
Unexpected Materials with Powerful Stories
One of the most striking features of Singh’s work was how the materials themselves carried stories of the past. The installation began with an innocuous pile of rubble at the entrance of the fair, which, on closer inspection, revealed saplings growing amidst the debris. This quiet, poetic installation mirrored the cycle of life emerging from destruction, a powerful reminder that even in the aftermath of demolition, life finds a way to thrive.
The use of bricks in Singh’s sculptures evokes personal connections to spaces people once called home. It speaks to the physical and emotional upheaval of losing one’s place of origin, homes that were torn down to make room for the new. Singh’s art explores these experiences, using the very materials that once formed the foundation of these homes to symbolize the resilience and regeneration of the human spirit.
A Reflection on Memory and Place
Singh’s sculptures are not just about the physical transformation of materials; they also invite viewers to reflect on the intangible memories attached to those materials. For many visitors, the exhibition provoked thoughts of their own pasts, the places they grew up in, and the homes they lost to time or redevelopment. As one visitor put it, “It’s as if these bricks are carrying a piece of every person who once lived there.”
Singh’s work serves as a reminder that our sense of place is not fixed. “No address is permanent,” Singh says, encapsulating the transient nature of both physical and emotional landscapes. Each brick tells a different story, each sculpture represents a different history, one that continues to evolve, even after the structures themselves are gone.
Impact on the Art Community
Singh’s exhibition at the India Art Fair 2026 was not just a crowd-puller but a thought-provoking experience. His approach of using bricks, a seemingly mundane and discarded material, to create powerful art, challenged conventional notions of what art can be made from and how deeply materials can resonate with emotional histories. This was more than just an exhibit; it was an invitation to reflect on the impermanence of life, the resilience of the human spirit, and the importance of memory.
In an era of rapid urbanization and development, where old structures are constantly being replaced with new ones, Singh’s work serves as an important reminder of the personal connections we form with the spaces around us. Through his bricks, Singh has not only created art but also sparked a larger conversation about what we leave behind and what we carry forward.
Looking Ahead
Girjesh Kumar Singh’s Haal Mukaam: Current Address at the India Art Fair 2026 stands as a testament to the power of unconventional materials in contemporary art. As visitors continue to reflect on the themes explored in his work, the exhibition is sure to inspire future artists to look beyond traditional mediums and draw on the stories embedded in the everyday objects that surround us. Singh’s sculptures are not just art, they are a call to remember, to reflect, and to rethink the significance of place in our lives.
