NEW SKIN FOR THE OLD CEREMONY
New Skin for the Old Ceremony contemplates the relationship between time, space and memory - where memory is iterative, held between thought and action, rhythm and balance, twilight and darkness. It grapples with how memory asks us to come back to the same space, over and over again, bringing forth offerings of attention and knowledge - new eyes to old thoughts.
Humans appear to have always kept time. From the first cave paintings to the newest monuments, time is the fourth dimension that locates the here and the now - the markers of our existence, a remembrance coded in our being, manifested in different forms.
The exhibition is roughly divided into three islands - time, rhythm and form. The works act as portals to memories, whether collective or individual. Viewers are urged to tap into their personal banks of reminiscences in order to activate the exhibition. These can be recollections of creation, growth, change or loss, thus bringing new meanings with every encounter.
MEMORY
The fourteenth floor welcomes the viewer with works of Seher Shah, Ayesha Sultana and Astha Butail. Their works emphasize on the act of repetition and the act of making itself, thus folding time in its process.
TIME
The three islands of time, rhythm, and form are located on different floors but are fluid enough to commingle. Rhythm alludes to time, and form alludes to a certain rhythm. The ground floor consists of Shezad Dawood, Ayesha Singh, and Studio CAMP’s work that speaks of the effects of time on memory, history, and geography.
RHYTHM
On the fifteenth-floor, works of Seher Shah, Muhanned Cader and Mark Prime (in between the 14th and 15th floor), refer to rhythm and how music involves timekeeping. Biraaj Dodiya’s large oil on canvas bridges the thematic islands of form and rhythm. In another section, form comes into play especially with works of Madhvi Parekh and Sheila Makhijani, who for years have dabbled with form in their respective practices. In the adjoining space, Mrinalini Mukherjee’s blood red glazed terracotta with it’s botanic gargoyled form is at the center of the space, anchoring the quiet works of Lala Rukh and Muhanned Cader that try to capture the beauty of passing by time.
Curation and text by Dhwani Gudka
Exhibition Design by Reha Sodhi