Ayesha Singh’s solo at Delhi’s Shrine Empire Gallery It Was Never Concrete from the 23rd of August to the 28th of September conjures a strange archaeological terrain of collapsed histories, or perhaps an antique shop where a mixed bag of motley monuments from different times parley across the same shelf. The gaze meanders through an architectural maze of hybridised arches and cornices, delineated as black metal frames that break up the white space, vaguely connoting the syncretic skyline of this ancient city, finally alighting on a swinging kinetic sculpture espied through a broad vertical slit in a temporary wall.
Two zoomorphic wooden brackets, the kind one would recall from temple interiors in South India, joust and collide in an eternal merry-go-round, leaving behind a trail of dust and broken fragments. Titled Frayed Continuum, the work proffers a poetic preamble to the exhibition. The twin figures go faster and wilder as they shed their ideological weight. The torqued dynamism of the sculptures is an obvious reference to historical recycling and continuity whilst the settled remains on the floor offer a much more ambiguous reading and can variously signify constructive friction that would eventually cancel out difference, or historical casualties caught between warring ideologies. As such, this material slough is open to interpretation as exhausted cultural difference or the ruins of a desecrated past repurposed into an eclectic present. Or perhaps both at the same time.
Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Art India.
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Denne historien er fra December 2019-utgaven av Art India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Parts, Wholes And The Spaces In Between
Sonal Sundararajan introduces Samira Rathod's free-spirited and rebellious explorations in the world of architecture, furniture and design.
"The Fine Art of Going to the Pictures."
Dr. Banerjee in Dr. Kulkarni's Nursing Home at Chemould Prescott Road brings together 26 paintings featuring a series of dramatic scenes from Hindi and Bengali films. In conversation with Abhay Sardesai, artist Atul Dodiya talks about childhood trips to movie halls, painted figures gripped by tension, and the closeness and remoteness of cinematic images.
"To Finally Have Something of Your Own to Mine."
Dayanita Singh is the recipient of the coveted 2022 Hasselblad Award. Keeping the photograph at the centre, she speaks to Shreevatsa Nevatia about books, book objects, photo novels, exhibitions and museums.
OF DIVINE LOSS
Shaurya Kumar explores the relationship between the subject and object of devotion, finds Aranya.
THE PAST AND ITS SHADOWS
Neha Mitra visits two shows and three artists in Mumbai.
FORCE OF NATURE
Alwar Balasubramaniam dwells on absences and ephemeralities in his new work, states Meera Menezes.
SHAPES OF WATER
Devika Sundar's works delineate the murky, malleable boundaries between the human body and the organic world, says Joshua Muyiwa.
INTIMATIONS OF INTIMACY
Sunil Gupta shares his journey with Gautami Reddy.
THE FRACTURED PROSPECT
Nocturnal landscapes as ruins in the making? Adwait Singh looks at Biraaj Dodiya's scenes of loss.
TEETERING BEYOND OUR GRASP
Meera Menezes traces Mahesh Baliga's journey from Moodabidri to London.