A solo exhibition of Shilpa Gupta takes place at Fonderie Darling in Montreal, Canada. Her work seems to stem from an acute alertness to global political and economic churnings as they greatly shape everyday aspects and broader experiences of life.
In recent years, the artist in her work has tried to probe the polarities of anxiety and security as these facets manifest in a sort of formalized cultural mundanity of both threat and defense. It often has a strong base in process or interactivity and looks to check upon the sufferings of marginalized persons. It addresses charged situations in the lives of groups.
The transcultural relevance of the artist’s work testifies the reach of her exploration of core issues, which act as points of anxiety or contest in today’s complex globalized world. At the same time, it has an almost conversational feel, personal and even intimate character that it exudes.
Shilpa Gupta’s oeuvre takes form according to the basic conceptual foundation and intrinsic concerns of each piece she makes. This new exhibition, primarily revolving around new work commissioned for it, consists of a video projection and mixed media installations as well as book works, large-scale photography work, and more.
She reworks in her new installation objects of everyday life, such as scissors, plastic knives, tweezers, cigarette lighters etc, confiscated from travelers by security services at Trudeau International Airport considered devices of potential danger.
A related concern to go with this act has been the intersecting issues of identity, nations, borders and militarism. These take on a distinct emphasis in a documentation of maps hand-drawn by Montreal residents, randomly approached in various parts of the city and asked, in English or French, to ‘please draw a map of your country’. And the ensuing sketches delineate imprecise landmass and borders, even as they exude diverse, discordant national identifications.
The exhibition curated by Renee Baert continues until November 27, 2011.
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