Where viewers find stories in the myriad world of objects

The focal point of the current exhibition in the city, on view until January 17, is Shetty film. The story traces a man, who takes a dip into a lake and emerges a woman, who goes about leading her daily life. Circumstances draw her back into the water, but now she comes out as a man

MUMBAI: In the dimly-lit gallery spaces of IFBE, located in Ballard Estate, the air buzzes with anticipation as visitors embark on a journey through Sudarshan Shetty’s recent exhibition, ‘One Life Many/ Ek Jeevan Anek.’ Shetty, an artist known for his multidisciplinary approach, is exhibiting his work in the city after seven years.

Mumbai, India – Jan 02, 2024: Artist Sudarshan Shetty at IFBC, Ballaerd Estate, in Mumbai, India, on Tuesday, Jan 02, 2024. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

In 2017, ‘Shunya Ghar’ at Dr Bhau Daji Lad Museum explored the artist’s past, the idea of self within Mumbai, the “egalitarian city of surprises” as his muse. Shetty’s artistic journey is marked by a series of solo exhibitions and participation in major group exhibitions globally. His work, including ‘One Life, Myriad Places’ at Ishara Art Foundation in 2023 and ‘Age of Love’ at GALLERYSKE in New Delhi in 2022, has been a consistent exploration of themes related to identity, memory and transformation.

The 62-year-old artist’s recent exhibit unveils an enigmatic exploration of self, memory and transformation through a captivating eponymous film and a suite of thought-provoking assemblages. “In my role as an artist, I would like to see my work as a mediation between how I am conditioned to belong in a structure that is dictated by the western canons, and a life, as I see from where I belong, outside of it,” he says.

The focal point of the current exhibition in the city, on view until January 17, is Shetty film. The story traces a man, who takes a dip into a lake and emerges a woman, who goes about leading her daily life. Circumstances draw her back into the water, but now she comes out as a man. “The seed of this exhibition lies in a folk story that I heard a long time ago, that comes together in a video and a suite of objects to be seen in a certain order of display, in a way of retelling the story, in as many ways as possible,” explains Shetty. “While researching I learnt, there is a Syrian folklore which is close to this story. Later, I read Wendy Doniger’s book, ‘Dreams, Illusion and Other Realities’, wherein there is a story of Narada which is told in the Upanishads, exploring a similar theme.”

It works with the ideas Shetty closely works with – what is real and what is not. Shetty’s film becomes a canvas for questioning fundamental aspects of human existence – memory, return, transformation and the role of narrative in shaping our understanding of these processes.

In the rest of the show spread across two commodious rooms, the viewer witnesses a museum and a theatre. Shetty’s intention remains to get to the core of the story through the process. Shetty ingeniously recasts everyday objects – telephones, typewriters, projectors, and even mundane domestic items like teacups – into a theatrical setting. “These assemblages serve as portals, challenging us to question the tangible evidence and appendages that objects represent in the complex tapestry of selfhood. Movie plays with the linear idea of time,” reads the exhibition note.

Yet Shetty insists, “There are oblique connections.” ‘One Life Many’ neither amplifies the specificity of individual experiences nor succumbs to the emptiness of universals. Instead, the artist draws inspiration from the profound words of Pandit Kumar Gandharva, a renowned Indian musician: “We are individually multiple.” These words resonate throughout the exhibition, emphasising the interconnectedness of our varied experiences.

Shetty’s fusion of cinema and assemblages creates a space where the real and illusory converge, challenging us to embrace the multiplicity within ourselves and the interconnectedness that binds us all. Pointing to an installation of a toy bird perched upon a horizontal placed tree, Shetty shares, “There is no human body in this show. You learn about people through the world of objects they live with and here the viewer is invited to create their own narratives and stories based on these objects,” he says. “This theatre of evoking stories viewing objects – for instance, the two identical curtains, which look like they are cut out from a fabric, but made of wood -- plays out the essence of the story in as many ways, which is, ‘what is real, and what is not’.”