Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Chitra Ganesh’s thought-provoking social agenda

Chitra Ganesh’s work is a mix of separate productive moves that work in a perfect harmony. Even while firmly rooted in a Western, postmodern discourse, her cultural references allow her to convey the proven principle of a multiplicity as a spirit that draws together.

Her new wall creation is on view at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center located at Long Island City, NY. It is considered among the largest and the oldest non-profit contemporary art institutions in the US that acts as a catalyst for new ideas, trends, and discourses in contemporary art.

The work at P.S.1 lobby by this versatile and innovative Indian artist features elements in India and Sumi inks, washes of color, cut paper and found objects such as plastic fruits, fake hair, and sequins.

She elaborates: “I've always been amazed by how dreams and their repressions tend to shape personal and social crises. My photography, sculptural and installation work is largely inspired by mythological narratives, erased moments in South Asian history, lyric poetry, present day imperialism and queer politics.

“Taking these tales and integrating them with my own mythic imagery, the hybrid world of sculpture and drawing articulate both psychic transformation and historical conflict. Much of my visual vocabulary engages an old Indian idiom, which describes women who transgress social norms - the term junglee.”

The piece is inspired by the character in Alan Moore’s 1980s graphic novel ‘Watchmen’, The Silhouette. The original superhero in the famous comic book series gets discriminated against and murdered for coming out as a lesbian. The work denotes links between myth, ritual, and high and low culture apart from connections between continents and countries.

Chitra Ganesh like in her past installations looks to excavate and circulate buried narratives typically excluded from the official canon.

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