Bharti Kher’s incredible sculpture exhibition titled Stange Attractors, presented by Nature Morte, consisted of nostalgic, mysterious and melancholic works, boldly unfolding a visual narrative. Kher’s employs a wide range of materials to bewilder, mesmerize and repel. The artist’s unique visual language depicts a deep understanding of the cosmos. She uses the outlandish to make observation on life and society. Armed with research, study and history she uses resin, saris, plaster wax and metal to create her distinct images. The sheer vibrancy of the images allows the observer to explore the stark realities of life.
Some are strange and disturbingly tragic like Piet. The title indirectly refers to the Renaissance sculpture by Michelangelo showing the Virgin Mary supporting the figure of the dead Christ. This piece, close to the artist’s heart represents her mother. She has created an image of her mother in cracked plaster lying on a rectangular wax box. This powerful and tragic image of a wounded woman with a cracked frame is testimony of the wounds and pain faced by women. Instead of highlighting the joy of motherhood she refers to the perils of bringing life filled with trials and tabulations. Her mother is shown as an old female aging body and not an admired goddess. She invites the viewer to look beyond the surface. The artist has converted a gamut of materials, found objects, and works-in-progress into works that are a clear mix of the magical and surreal element and at the same times a narrative.
Animus Mundi is a spectacular installation. The nude Venus like perfect figure with the animal head together with the sari carelessly falling on her invites the viewer to contemplate how interlocked the elements of the cosmos are. This fusion of the surreal and mystical evokes various questions in the mind of the viewer. “ Animus Mundi is the centre of the universe where all things converge. A connection between all living things, the vital force in a world that carries all human and animal energies,” says Kher about the work. Animus Mundi draws its name from Greek mythology that speaks of a universal soul and its intrinsic connection between all living things on the planet.
The artist’s skill in creating a piece that reflects and haunts the persona of an individual is evident in Cloak for MM. This piece is dedicated to her friend sculptor Mrinalini Mukherjee who passed away a few years back. Saris is different patterns are draped…
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