Continually meditating on the subjective unfolding of time in nature, her abstract forms seek to evoke what she calls the “adaptations” or those imperceptible and innumerable processes of change and metamorphosis taking place amid the various species of any given environment. 

Cloud songs on the horizon commissioned specifically for the Barbican’s Conservatory comprises of five suspended sculptures, each of which has been handcrafted by Shettar in her studio in rural Karnataka, India. Working intuitively, Shettar’s approach is embedded and responsive to its own context and surroundings. Gliding above the koi pond is a sculpture carved from a reclaimed teak wood pillar, while each of the components of the other sculptures are first moulded from a stainless steel base and then handwoven muslin cloth is bound to the steel armature, a technique she had adapted from a local crafts tradition. The resulting effect is deeply textural, and Shettar progressively introduces colour. Starting with components accented with lacquer, graduating to those unfurling with hints of colour coming from the root of the madder plant, culminating in an exuberant mix of lacquer, madder and natural pomegranate dye.