Jitish KALLAT: Skinside Outside
Arario Seoul introduces the rising young Indian artist, Jitish Kallat’s (b. 1974) first solo show Skinside Outside in Korea from August 28th to September 24th. This is his 19th solo exhibition along with the Third World artists’ group show, Another Worlds (2005) in Arario Cheonan, the large-scale contemporary Indian art exhibition of 12 leading artists, Hungry God (2006) in Arario Beijing and solo exhibition 365 Lives (2007).
India is a country like a ‘melting pot’ holding various histories in terms of race, geography and culture. However, the image of India was distorted as ‘savage’ or ‘mysterious’ by the Western view. This distorted presentational image has simplified human trauma that exists in Indian’s real life. In India, agony and sufferings among humans and critical voice are emphasized due to these reasons: the collective memory from the colonial period past over 200 years, the ineradicable disruption and strife among races and religions, the contradictory process of modernization under the political unification so-called “One India,” and after opening, on the other side of the rapidly growing economical development myth, the gap between the rich and the poor, urban problems, barriers of language and communication, and ethical and religious exclusionism.
Skinside Outside represents works containing mental agony as an artist and anxiety resulted from the current Indian society. While Kallat is conflicted between pop art and agitprop, he tries to solve the survival on human strife and endless narratives. Mumbai, where he lives now, is a place where survival in itself is an adventure and shows the extreme aspects of India. Thus, Mumbai becomes a source of stimulation for his artistic practice.
This exhibition introduces installations, paintings and sculptures. First, Collidonthus (2007) is a life size model of a car constructed with 37 pieces of bones, which bears a resemblance to the re-assemblage of the ruins of the ancient prehistoric period. Inspired by the images of burnt remains of cars on the streets of India due to bombings and riots, Kallat expresses internal tragedy and waste resulted from rapid social changes. The imagery is quite grotesque, arabesque but at the same time very burlesque. This installation stands on an interesting boundary since the work may belong to either the museum of natural history or the automobile exposition at the same time.
Skinside Outside (2008) is an immense painting larger than 4.8 meters in width, and is from his new series of works introduced in Arario Seoul for the first time. At first glance, this work seems very gentle, visually playing with patterns. However, with a closer look, the confused city images extend from right to left, and it is dizzying due to these symmetrical repetitions. It brings our attention to the reflected and repeated human insides. On the lower part of the painting, the form of bronze cast bird-legs is threatening but fascinatingly sweet; furthermore, it touches on the consciousness of moral recognition.
Two sculptures in this exhibition have coherency with his previous works, but these are piled with models of the ruins of the city, disorderly on a bridge post. After it is waxed, the sculpture is bent into a shape of a heart. It represents a clock image symbolizing time and is overlapped with a wreath symbolizing death, and it also contains absurdity of love that is worn out easily. At the same time, like “I LOVE NY,” it seems to be a souvenir as the symbol of Mumbai. Although it is a heart of the ominous chaos and threatening shape, ironically it shows affection toward the city.
Jitish Kallat shows his passionate works toward the whole world as a stage including his solo show in Mumbai, New Delhi, Singapore, New York, Chicago, Sydney, Beijing and the recent exhibition Haunch of Venison (2008) in Zurich as well as worldly praised exhibition, Thermocline Of Art (2007) of ZKM Museum in Germany, New Narratives: Contemporary Art From India (2007) of Cultural Centre in Chicago, and Gwangju Biennale (2006). He is a practicing artist and writer for discussion of the art world. I hope you to experience the feast of contemporary Indian art throughout Indian artist, Jitish Kallat’s exhibition.
