AN UNLIKELY PAIR (Mumbai)
Lina Vincent Sunish

The show came about as a result of Jen’s stay in India for a sixmonth
residency programme of the Art Foundation of Nordrhein-
Westfalen, in cooperation with the Goethe Institut/Max Mueller
Bhavan, Mumbai. His work has been largely based on experiments
with collage, fusing and mixing varied histories to create both
predictable and unexpected meanings. Largely figurative, his prior
works also reveal an exploration of images, through a manipulation
of context and perception, and also the ideation of images as objects.
Two things, among many others, inspired him the most – Regular
visits to the business district in Fort, where machines and engines of
all types are traded. At many of the shops, he came across painted
signs depicting the objects for sale; these were done in a simple,
clear and unostentatious manner. Jens was particularly fascinated
by the work of a painter, who only initialled some of his signs with
“Sardarart”; the other, was the new style of dressing he had to adopt
while in hot and humid Mumbai. He came across Khadi (after making
unsatisfactory visits to men’s suiting stores) and used cut-out patterns
to get comfortable clothes stitched. The political and social history of
Khadi caught his interest, as did the experience of wearing and styling
himself in a local material.