‘Chlorophyll Park’ at Nature Morte

Gallery Nature Morte presents an exhibition of new works by Jitish Kallat. The celebrated contemporary Indian artist is having a solo in New Delhi after a gap of six years.

What at first may appear like wildly disparate works of art, reveal strong themes in common upon closer inspection; the proletariat figure - he or she who labors to actually keep the city going – is primary among these. It’s the figure whose multiple histories (both forgotten and recorded) are inscribed in several places (both mundanely and heroically) on the ubiquitous surfaces of the urban fabric.

The stories he narrates of his home city might be contradictory but they are also realistic: elegance comes along with the unsightly, a spiritual optimism is palpable amid material degradation, nourishment accompanies fatigue. He employs images symbolically by combining elements to weave layered metaphors about current life situations. ‘Chlorophyll’, the green pigment found in most plants, is the metaphor for his photo-collages that picture an urban oasis - both real and utopian, a sort of desire for experiencing the uncanny within the quotidian.

Elaborating on his processes and themes, an accompanying note states, “He works in all media - painting, sculpture, photography, video etc. His works are rooted in the megalopolis that is Mumbai and, by extension, all urban experiences, connecting the disciplines of archeology, sociology, and biology. ‘Annexation’, a large sculpture has its surface inscribed of an over-sized kerosene stove, carrying images sourced from the historic Victoria Terminus railway station and its neo-Gothic architecture. It represents a struggle by sustenance and survival seen by millions of commuters daily.

In a photo work, ‘Conditions Apply 2’, images of round breads wax and wane as if the cyclical moon, representing the ups and downs of life. Another intriguing work is comprised of 108 color photos that present an index of the shirt pockets of hurried commuters, often bulged with objects of daily necessities. Another painting by him pictures the artist’s urban Everyman as an organic being - a synthesis of both culture and nature.