Alchemist(s) | 2020
Curated by Pearl Lam Galleries, the group show Alchemist(s) examines the intuitive potential of art. The artists in this exhibition all delve into their subconscious and question our reliance on conventional belief systems and institutional structures to give us meaning. Introspective in their approach, they use different strategies to recuperate different kinds of losses, be it of memories, identities, or a sense placed within a deep personal conviction. What began as a hunch or an intuition
from experimenting with materials subsequently became a catalyst for developing a corpus of artworks.
Suspicious of the formal language of Western modernism, these artists opt for processes of making that
are largely instinctive, natural, and faithful—like extracting a panacea from the cosmic realm in order to
prompt us with a prophetic vision of a new future.
Suspicious of the formal language of Western modernism, these artists opt for processes of making that
are largely instinctive, natural, and faithful—like extracting a panacea from the cosmic realm in order to
prompt us with a prophetic vision of a new future.
Works on Display
Mythological Induction – II – Kalki, Study II (10)
A series of suspended canvases narrates the story of Kalki, the final incarnation of Lord Vishnu, grouping prophecies and characteristics of the avatar into possible logical
relations. With poignant insertions of visual cues and suggestive metaphors drawn from a diverse range of cultural references, Mythological Induction transforms the conservative form of the Venn diagram into a visceral viewing experience. Probing the unconventional connection between the spiritual and the mathematical, the series reflects on how society is conditioned to think about God and prayer.
Present Continuous
The film foregrounds the tension involved in the act of balancing one’s game as one meanders through existence. Mundane day-to-day
scenes in the city are punctuated by the action of a rapidly bouncing ping-pong ball, mirroring the ticking of time or the beating of a heart. The arbitrary, prosaic passage of time is thus juxtaposed against a relentless temporal awareness. Played continuously, the film blurs the notion of time into an indistinct loop without a clear beginning or end. Addressing mythology, spirituality, and the nature of existence through the terminology of ping-pong.
Medium: 4k film, 20 minutes
Size: Projection – variable