Home Ground by Saju Kunhan
TARQ presents Saju Kunhan's second solo show, Home Ground. The exhibition is on display at TARQ's Mumbai venue from 10th February to 26th March 2022.
In this exclusive exhibition Saju continues to explore themes of migration and displacement through his method of image transfers on teak wood. Also featured in this exhibition for the first time, are the artist'sworks on paper. This body of work investigates the more personal side of Saju's practice, representing his ancestral home and the multiple migrations undertaken by his family.
Stemming from a belief that history is a collection of memories, Saju plumbs the memories of his ancestors to create works that chart his family's past of migration, displacement, colonialism and conquest. Through his engravings on remnants of red oxide flooring from his ancestral home in Palakkad, Kerala, Saju reflects on the history of his family via the oral narratives shared with him by the previous generations of his family.
Though these works are intensely personal, they represent the existence of a larger community. Blurring the lines between personal and public, myth and history, fact and fiction Saju continues to use maps and maquettes to represent the imagined settlements of his ancestors while also paying homage to the refugees currently sheltering in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan and the systematic deforestation of the Amazon Forest.
As described by Saju, “I am connecting my works to the politics& power as well as the environmental concerns. What I believe is that whatever happens today there must be a link connected to the past. So, my works are connecting the past and present through concept and methodology.“
This exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue essay written by Skye Arundhati Thomas and will also be a part of this year's edition of Mumbai Gallery Weekend.
About the Artist: Saju Kunhan
Saju Kunhan received his BFA degree from the Government College of Fine Art, Thrissur, before pursuing his MFA in painting from the Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai. In 2014, Kunhan received a Post-Graduate Diploma degree in Museology and Conservation from CSMVS Museum, Mumbai.
Kunhan had his first solo exhibition, Stained Geographies at TARQ, Mumbai in 2017. He has been a part of several group exhibitions like - Shifting Selves: Between meaning, mythology rind mirage a show featuring works from the Sarmaya Arts Foundation collection at TARQ, Mumbai (2021);Lokame Tharnvndu, a group show curated by Bose Krishnamachari in Alappuzha, Kerala (2021): Traversing Histories, a two person show curated by Jitha Karthikeyan at Artimis Cars, Chennai (2019);India Art Fair, represented by TARQ, Mumbai (2019);Mapping frontiers, curated by Lina Vincent Sunish as part of the Krishnakriti Festival, Hyderabad (2018); Mnttnncherry, curated by Riyas Komu at URU Art Harbour,Kochi (2017); Young Subcontinent, curated by Riyas Komu at the Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa (2016); Scape O Scope, anniversary group show of TAO Art Gallery at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai (2016); Liminal A{{inities, the inaugural exhibition at Nine Fish Art Gallery, Mumbai (2015); The Deep Inside at Kalakriti Art Gallery, Hyderabad (2015) and Memento Mori, a group show at TARQ, Mumbai (2015).
He currently lives and works in Mumbai.
Courtesy: TARQ, Mumbai
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