Muralist, sculptor, installation designer – Gopal Namjoshi is a multi-hyphenated artist who has been following the principles of upcycling way before “upcycling” was a part of our daily vocabulary.

A gold medallist in Fine Arts from the School of Arts, Jaipur, in his 25 years of wide-ranging experience, Gopal has created art out of mixed murals, oil on canvas, and even plastic waste; but is waste metal that has been his most alluring muse. There is beauty in the mundane, a message in the silence, and a voice in the tinkering of bits and bobs of discarded metal. Through the hundreds of metal sculptures he has created, he aims to shine a light on the environmental hazards created by junkyards.

“I perceive creating art as birthing new life, giving a special meaning and purpose to every form, colour, object, and shape which is an extension of my rooted and acquired belief system. My works must trigger an imaginative dialogue, heighten their sense of shared being in this universe and the experience should linger on as a creature with a long tail, or rather resonate deeply with a viewer as their confidante,” says Namjoshi.

He refers to trash as aesthetic treasure and his thought-provoking creations are a part of public institutions and occupy pride of place in cities as well as in private collections. The medium truly is the message for the viewer in this case.