The New Indian Express ·
Jenjum Gadi turns memories of his Arunachal village into brass art
“Be it fashion or art, I always go back to my village for inspiration. I am what I am today because of my village,” says fashion and menswear designer Jenjum Gadi.
At Gadi’s latest exhibition at Gallery Vayu, ‘Ngok Dolu’, memories of growing up in Tirbin, Arunachal Pradesh, take shape in brass. The title means “my village” in Gadi’s mother tongue, Galo. The exhibition features more than 30 new artworks, including wall hangings, installations, pichwai-inspired beaten-brass panels and brass sculptures, through which the designer-artist revisits the culture and landscape of his childhood. ‘Ngok Dolu’ marks Gadi’s second body of brass works, following his debut collection, ‘Apaase’, in 2024 which featured three-dimensional brass-casted sculptures based largely on fruits and vegetables from his mother’s garden.
Gadi grew up in Tirbin in the 1980s, at a time pre-internet. “In the daytime, when all the adults would go to the field, they'd leave the children behind. So, all of us would huddle up in somebody's backyard gardens, just spend all day playing,” he recalls.
