Manveer was born and raised in Puranpur village of Haridwar, Uttarakhand. The transition from a rural to an urban landscape shifts his perspective on the relationship he has with nature.
A primal theme in Manveer’s work is the beauty of nature and the issues of plastic pollution transforming climate and nature’s landscape. His keen interest in the role of plastic on environmental degradation and his zest for color and texture is uniquely embodied in his current artworks.
With every piece that he creates, he hopes for his medium to define his work and his identity as an artist. This medium is not simply a representation of the climate crisis caused due to the ignorant dumping of plastics but at the same time, it is all the plastic that Plasticvalla is saving from going to the large dump yards. The works are ‘For Nature’ since they are recycling and upcycling considerable plastic that is harmful to the environment.
Biography
Manveer was born and raised in Puranpur village of Haridwar, Uttrakhand. Having grown up with his grandparents in lush green fields his love for the outdoors grew tremendously. Manveer has always been fascinated with visuals, as a child he remembers the excitement of receiving books with images that sparked his imagination of how the world is represented. This interest was cultivated in his teenage years and further developed when he opted to take his Bachelors in Fine Arts, College of Delhi which he continued and finished his Masters degree as well.
The transition from a rural to an urban landscape shifts his perspective of the relationship he has with nature. Living in urban Delhi, a jungle of concrete and hills of garbage is a contradictory reality that raises a worrying thought, could this be our future? He could not bear the thought that the green landscapes would only exist in images and paintings, he did not want his paintings to only show appreciation for their beauty but wanted to help and create something meaningful. Knowing that plastic is a huge contributor to climate change he decided to use the plastic that would have ended up in landfills, in his artworks. A primal theme in Manveer’s work is the beauty of nature and the issues of plastic pollution transforming climate and nature’s landscape. His keen interest in the role of plastic on environmental degradation and his zest for color and texture is uniquely embodied in his current artworks.
Plasticvalla is a name that was derived from our cultural association of one’s occupation with their name. Although that concept is also deeply rooted in the concept of caste, Plasticvalla adopted this name from the residents of the neighborhood where he collects ‘hard to recycle’ plastic. After a long-drawn process of this collection in the Habit Changer Boxes and cleaning each of the pieces, Plasticvalla begins to put them together for his sculptures and installations. With every piece that he creates, he hopes for his medium to define his work and his identity as an artist. This medium is not simply a representation of the climate crisis caused due to the ignorant dumping of plastics but at the same time, it is all the plastic that Plasticvalla is saving from going to the large dump yards. The works are ‘For Nature’, since they are recycling and upcycling considerable plastic that are harmful for environment
For the past more than half a decade, he’s been a full-time career artist, in creating awareness in his own community through his public installations about the damage of plastic waste. His deep concern for plastic consumption turned him into an activist artist who is focused on making an impact in people's lives. He was honored with the ‘Young Artist Scholarship in Painting’ by the Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India, 2018. He was awarded by UNDP and the Government of India in the ‘Secure Himalaya’ competition, in 2018. He participated in various international and national exhibitions including Jax Arts Festival, Saudi Arabia 2022, ‘The Dilemma of Sustainability’ by Desee Art, New Delhi 2022, Metis Artist Scholarship in 2021 and 2023, and many more. Along with his participation in displays and exhibitions, he has installed several public installations across India, from Himachal Pradesh to Goa.