A Farewell To India

Collectors and aesthetes in India are about to lose some sparkle in their homes, as French mirror-sculptor, Yahel Chirinian, gets ready to leave India, her home for nearly three decades.

- Dielle D'Souza

The muddy approach road is blinded by heat and dust, leading to a fallow field. Beyond a small gate lies a large Goan home, patrolled by two sniffing Alsatians and a mewling cat, filled with sparkling creations, as the sun hits their myriad mirrors. Yahel Chirinian, a 47-year-old sculptor, interior designer and artisan, hastily walks through the long verandah of her Monsoon Heritage Studio, cigarette in hand, sculptures of fish hanging like disco balls from the ceiling, to a covered patio scattered with her work. Chirinian, originally a Parisian who claims to be the “biggest fan of magic realism,” specialises in mirror-enamelled sculptures.

All of this dazzling space, this reflection of her mind and observations, will soon be empty as Chirinian prepares to leave the country she has called home for nearly three decades. “I think it’s time the baby leaves the nest,” she says. “India gave me a lot and made me who I am. I always try to give homage to and reflect the beauty of the colours of India because I cannot do better than that; I can only reflect. So I will continue the reflection, from a little further away.” She weighs her words, then adds: “I will not say I am leaving India. I will say that I am expanding the story.” Still, this expansion of story involves moving her life’s work, and she is guarded about where it will be to. “I cannot say where, because I am superstitious, but it will be like Goa, something which is open to the sea.”