Ranjani Shettar makes everyday things feel like pure magic! ✨
After spending years in the big city and going to art school, she decided to move to a quiet little village outside of Bangalore, India, where she could slow down and create art from the world around her—wood, trees, sunlight, and even her morning walks!
And that’s how Morning Song was born! 🌞🎶 This incredible installation is one of the biggest inspirations for Breathing. Room., the new exhibition at The Lobby.
Now, get this—there are more than 4,000 tiny wooden pegs in this piece! 🤯 Shettar carved each one by hand and worked with women in a nearby village to coat them in a special, shiny shellac, a technique originally used to make wooden toys (how cool is that?!). It’s a little bit of the past, brought into the now, transformed into something totally fresh and new.
Each peg stands on its own, spaced just right, placed at different angles and heights, like a giant puzzle of light and shadow. Together, they create something that dances along the wall and pulls your eyes with it—like music, but made of wood! 🎵✨ It’s peaceful, it’s exciting, and best of all, it gives you room to breathe.
Shettar’s art feels like stepping into a dream—a mix of old traditions and brand-new ideas, all coming together in a way that makes you want to look closer, move around, and maybe even feel a little bit lighter.
Morning Song isn’t just a work of art. It’s a feeling—one that stays with you long after you’ve left. 💫–
Sima is the curator of The Lobby – https://ellenbrowningbuilding.com/the-lobby/