• Suraj carves and pinches clay into forms that echo ancient architecture
• His sculptures evoke the weathered look of archaeological discoveries
• He treats red clay from the Ganges River as a living force

Suraj Kumar Sahu builds terracotta sculptures that pay tribute to the forgotten makers of ancient India’s sacred sites. At just 15 years old, he started building replicas of huge temple complexes in foam and plaster to celebrate popular Hindu festivals in his village. Studying these monuments and UNESCO World Heritage Sites inspired Suraj to research the artisans behind them. “Entire lineages perished building a single monument, and yet people never take a moment to wonder whose hands shaped it,” he says. Suraj sculpts fragments of temple architecture, then presses a limb or a face into the surface for the maker and monument to become inseparable. He exclusively works by hand, pinching red clay from the Ganges, a material he treats as a living force.