Navin and Raseel Gujral Ansal's new exhibition explores a circus through metaphors and stories
The exhibition 'Remember, It is my Circus!' by Raseel and Navin Ansal features monkey-centric artworks symbolizing identity and history.
At Travancore Palace on Wednesday evening, monkeys in uniforms, masks, and metaphors swung across canvases at Raseel and Navin Ansal’s preview of their art exhibition, ‘Remember, It is my Circus!’ The idea of the artworks started germinating based on stories Raseel is part of, including Delhi, political, pre- and post-Independence and also the ones that have been passed down in her family.
The artworks, she tells us, were made with AI (artificial intelligence) first in her studio and then touched by the hands of local artisans in Jaipur. As you move through the exhibition, you’ll notice a monkey plays the main character in all these stories. When asked why monkey, Raseel explains: “I feel like the moment you put humans on a canvas, it becomes a poster, and when you put monkeys, who are also closely related to humans, you get these masked characters who can be moulded into any story. People put on a uniform and they put on a persona, both are metaphorical and literal iterations of putting on a mask.”
Her husband, Navin, extends the metaphor further, “When you look at these monkeys, you cannot differentiate one from the other. They are all the same, and that is the best part of it all.”
The venue is adorned with Raseel’s father, Satish Gujral’s artworks when you walk in and flows into her works and finally the three sculptures she calls “the three devis” — Devi, Damsel and Diva — which, according to her, are “three of the many roles women play in their lives.” This exhibition is on display till September 28.
