Jitish goes solo in London

Mumbai inspires many artists. It has also inspired Jitish Kallat. But unlike the other art depictions of the city, Jitish's work brings out the chaos and the conflict that exists in the city and in many individuals

Mumbai inspires many artists. It has also inspired Jitish Kallat. But unlike the other art depictions of the city, Jitish's work brings out the chaos and the conflict that exists in the city and in many individuals.

This contemporary artist is all set to display his work at the Haunch of Venison Gallery in London from February 18 to 27. Jitish speaks to CS about this upcoming solo show titled The Astronomy of the Subway:



Show it all
My work at the gallery will simulate a journey through space wherein planetary and stellar formations, galactic clusters and nebulae are replaced by hundreds of x-ray scans of food. This dark, cryptic, hypnotic space when viewed a little longer can begin to appear like floating cellular formations, suspended tumours, etc. It evokes notions of sustenance, survival and mortalityu00a0-- my theme.

Mumbai bytes
In my work, Mumbai is the side story, whereas the protagonists are the 80 million people who live here. There is very little that I dislike about Mumbai as an artist. But as a member of the civil society, I think what this city needs is a dose of tolerance with great compassion.
One of my installations, Anger at the Speed of Fright is a constellation of almost a 100 rioting figures where each unique sculpture is approximately 15 cms tall. It is like a God's eye view of the street violence. The figures are so smallu00a0 that you feel bigger and wiser in comparison. It also depicts the conflict of fight and fear within a person.

Child of the modern world
I see myself as a child of liberalisation and going global is a natural step. As an artist one is working against the backdrop of quick changes cannot be deniedu00a0-- cultural, social and political. And so it is this that percolates in my work. The fast changing India has a rich layered environment, which makes for an interesting art subject. But Mumbai needs to become more art aware. For that, several aspects of our cultural lives have to work together. We needed more enlightened museums, liberal media and art teachings right at the primary school level.

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