COSMIC SEEDS

The lobby welcomed the viewers into the building and into the collection with Munem Wasif’s series of cyanotype prints of rice seeds, Seeds shall set us free. These prints, at first glance, are reminiscent of the cosmos, but are representative of the cultural traditions of his homeland Bangladesh, a country where rice is staple.

Moving to the 1st floor, there was Rathin Barman’s life-size, site-specific work made and installed while the building itself was being constructed, as well as his other, smaller topographical experimentation, looking at ageing of forms and alteration of mediums.

The penultimate floors of the building truly show the zeitgeist nature of the collection, with the 14th floor being about cities, their evolution and a life of their own. This was explored by looking at the works of Ayesha Sultana, Rathin Barman, Remen Chopra, Gulam Sheikh, Vir Kotak, Ayesha Singh — all referencing different cities in the Subcontinent, from Delhi to Lahore, from Visakhapatnam to Mumbai, and from Baroda to the Middle East, all at different times, through various lens.

Finally, the 15th floor: an almost solo show dedicated to Krishna Reddy, with one spot featuring Zarina Hashmi, referencing the time and space the two printmakers’ works and careers intersected — a studio in Paris.