Solo art exhibition by this British artist offers audiences a sensory experience

In her upcoming solo exhibition at Gallery Art & Soul, British artist Nandita Chaudhari explores what it truly means to be boundless

As we enter the artist’s apartment in Walkeshwar and are led towards her studio, we find Nandita Chaudhuri working on one of the many sculptures that will be up on display at Gallery Art & Soul after the initial set-up at IFBE in Ballard Estate. Soon after, we settle down in the living room, which is dotted with her artworks.

These include the oversized chair with newspaper cutouts printed on it, to the art installation titled Panchbhutam, which took center stage at the Kala Ghoda Arts Festival this February. The multimedia pieces she did for Subhash Ghai for the “100 Years of Indian Cinema” showcase at Film City adorn the walls behind the sofa, where we sit to talk about her upcoming exhibition, UNMASKED. The exhibition is a sensory experience that boasts 12 digital films, 11 sculptures, and 
40 paintings.

How does one put together the traditional and the modern? For Chaudhuri, the medium is simply secondary. What matters is the conceptual: the exhibition is a culmination of the artist’s individual efforts in materialising her ideology. “I must remind you,” she says, “to not look for the linear—not in the people you meet, the experiences you seek, and definitely not in her artwork.”

The book, also titled UNMASKED, which accompanies the exhibition, is only a testament to Nandita’s core beliefs. The thought remains the same; it’s only the language that changes. The sensory experience wishes to evoke comfort and unease and eventually let you embrace the unknown and be unshackled. “The exhibition accentuates the growing apathy in the world and the disconnect among communities because of the pervasiveness of technology,” says Chaudhuri. “This disconnect extends itself to an apathy for our environment.”

One of the centre pieces is a hologram, animating the sculptures from the Panchbhutam series, where it appears as if the woman is about to take flight. “The artwork embodies the fact that we are formless; there are wings upon our soul. You are free from the assumptions of the world. You’re not an artist, and you’re not a woman. You are a free spirit,” Chaudhuri asserts.  

This is only one of the many holograms that will be present at the gallery, along with the numerous NFTs. When asked about her opinion on the developments brought about by technology in the arts and creative spaces, she says that it has only further allowed her to realize herself as a multidisciplinary artist and be truly limitless.

UNMASKED will be moved to Gallery Art & Soul, Worli, from April 15 to May 5. The exhibition is sponsored by DBS Bank.

WHAT: UNMASKED
WHERE: IFBE, Ballard Estate till today, 10 AM to 7 PM
Gallery Art & Soul, April 15-May 5

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