One of my favourite places in the city is Sassoon Docks. I can sit there and watch the ships for hours,” admits Naresh Kumar, as we speak over the phone. Coincidentally, the conversation takes place while this writer is passing through Bandra’s Bandstand promenade. The sea is a constant presence for any Mumbaikar — homegrown or migrant. These unifying identities and exploration of individual freedoms in a fractured world are key to his first solo exhibition, Act of Republic that opens in a Fort gallery tomorrow.

Resistance in a Republic

Kumar has returned from a residency in South Korea recently. “Even there, I witnessed protests against immigration, and inhuman laws,” he shares, underlining the global nature of the issue. His works are a ‘personal resistance’ to this growing battle.