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Art and culture extravaganza in Mumbai this weekend
A wedding ceremony being conducted in sign language becomes a Kung Fu representation of the battle of the sexes. That’s Don’t Look At The Finger, a multimedia art
A wedding ceremony being conducted in sign language becomes a Kung Fu representation of the battle of the sexes. That’s Don’t Look At The Finger, a multimedia art installation by the London-based Hetain Patel.
His video work will remind you of archetypal Hollywood action scenes; the title is a famous Bruce Lee’s line from Enter the Dragon (1973). And the art work is part of a dramatic line-up of exhibitions, curatorial walk-throughs and panel discussions on offer during Mumbai Gallery Weekend (MGW). Thirty spaces — art galleries, museums and performing arts venues — between Colaba and Bandra will host these events, between Thursday and Sunday.
Now in its sixth edition, this year’s MGW highlights include a retrospective on KG Subramanyan, Bengaluru-based artist Ravikumar Kashi’s sculptural installations of metal mesh, paper pulp and banana fibre, and Mauritanian artist Saleh Lo’s first-ever showing in Mumbai — an exhibition of portraits that offer perspectives on modern-day slavery, and were created during his recent art residency at Clark House.
Nikhil Chopra will deliver a lecture-performance drawing on his 3,000-km road trip from Athens to Kassel, which culminated with a performance at the prestigious Documenta exhibition in Germany last year.
A panel discussion will see artist Reena Saini Kallat, art consultant Pooja Sood and Claire Hsu, co-founder and executive director of the Asian Art Archive, discuss future-proofing art, and how the global art community should respond to societal changes, including the evolution of social media.
Patel is exhibiting at Chatterjee & Lal, Colaba, in his first solo show in Mumbai in two years. “His work has the potential to engage hugely diverse audiences — both in terms of the subject matter and his chosen medium of video, there is an accessibility to his practice that we have always admired,” says gallerist Mortimer Chatterjee.
Participating in MGW for the first time, Christie’s will display 15 masterpieces from its upcoming South Asian Modern and Contemporary Art Sale in New York, at its representative office.
“In the last few years, we have seen more interest from younger audiences with the growing consciousness of art as a shared experience,” says Kallat. “There is also better awareness and exposure through social media because of which youngsters have a fresh approach towards art. We still need to see a lot more people visit galleries on a regular basis, and that’s what MGW is about.”
The highlights
What: Future-Proofing Art
When: Thursday, 6 pm
Where: Royal Opera House
What: UnMythU by Mithu Sen
When: Friday, 5.30 pm
Where: Chemould Prescott Road (the exhibition is on till March 3)
What: Don’t Look At The Finger
When: Saturday 3.45 pm to 4.15 pm
Where: Chatterjee & Lal (the exhibition is on till March 10)
What: Drawing A Line Through Landscape by Nikhil Chopra
When Sunday, 3 pm to 4 pm
Where: Piramal Art Museum [Byculla gallery]
What: Objects in Transition by Elizabeth Drury
When: Saturday, 4.30 pm to 5 pm
Where: Akara Art (the exhibition is on till March 17)
(All events are free and open to all. Full schedule on mumbaigalleryweekend.com)
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