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Nature Morte (New Delhi) & Chemould Prescott Road (Mumbai), co- presented and unveiled two new additions to the collection of the celebrity artist, Jitish Kallat. The internationally acclaimed artist is pleased to launch the opening of his two grand artworks few days within their completion, thus internalizing with the final oeuvre not confined within the solitude of his studio but rather in a wider public domain.
The show features two artworks- a photographic-and-sound installation titled ‘Covering Letter ( terranum nuncius meaning a starry messenger )' and ‘Ellipsis’, his largest painting to date.
“Both these works evolve in their own individual orbits but they've been parallel processes in the studio.” The two works in linear terms may connect with each other in multiple ways. They define a conversation with an unknown other in their respective spaces but this show cumulatively spans around the artist’s personal conversational journey exploring the “unknown”.
Covering Letter (Terranum Nuncius):
The initial inspiration behind this set of works goes back to the two phonographic Golden Records that were hoisted onto the legendary Voyager 1 and 2 space probes, launched by NASA in 1977, which have now entered the interstellar space. Kallat is not swayed by the technological or scientific perspective but rather the more profound philosophical dimension that it represents.
“The probes point to a deeper human need to expand and explore the distant and the inconceivable, while the contents of the Golden Record reveals the fundamental human need to communicate. The contents of the record convey evidence of our presence on this planet to an unknown, space-faring alien other.”
Generating an auditory perception, the gallery will be permeated with sounds of greetings to the universe in 55 languages. A round table, encompassing over a hundred backlit 3D digital transparencies on display, will fill the physical space in the studio. To create these transparencies, Kallat has referenced the images decoded by Ron Barry, a US-based software engineer. Barry has visually represented audio clips, as if they were accessed by an extra-terrestrial. “These images range from scientific and cosmological diagrams, representations of our genetic make-up and anatomy, as well as other life forms, architecture etc., often annotated with measurements.” The table pulsates very slowly with light almost as it's calibrated to the speed of a human breath.
Also, part of the installation is a bench that is moulded into the shape of the hands of the Doomsday Clock. This clock presented annually by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists metaphorically represents a hypothetical human-made global catastrophe as "midnight", and the proximity of the world to apocalypse as a number of "minutes" to midnight.
Ellipsis:
Painting after a gap of 5 years, the artist explores his artistic vocabulary in Ellipsis. Ellipsis is his largest painting till date, approximately 60 feet long and spanning over 2 years of intense practice. Kallat quenches his artistic curiosity & intellectual pursuit, as he paints clusters of speculative abstraction on linen, which eventually meld into a large canvas. Trying to define forms & imagery beyond human perception, Ellipsis challenges the viewer with compelling tension, ambiguity and irresolution.
“Abstract gestures seem to crystallize, acquire perceptible form and resonate with meaning as if celestial orbits, geographical coordinate systems, botanical and topographical evocations begin to reveal the signatures of generative growth, evolution and entropy.”
While the exhibition in Mumbai is set to continue until January 21, “Covering Letter” (Terranum Nuncius) will later travel to the Frist Art Museum, Nashville (US) for Kallat’s first solo show there.
On display until 21st January, 2020
(10:30 am - 6:30 pm)
At the Famous Studio
Image Courtesy: Nature Morte, Chemould Prescott Road
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