Nandita Mukand - Exhibition Proposal
More and more in recent years we seem to be living a progressively larger proportion of our lives online, usually preferring this way of being over interacting with our world face-to-face as we used to. In a strange, perverse way, these changes underscore for me the importance of the tactile, the physical, the sensuous -the experience of the "real thing". The material experience brings about an understanding of our lived experience that is deeper than words and logic. The collapsing forms within the sculptures impinge on each other; I think of the character of our world pulled together by influences of the past & by threads that bind us together even as we stay separated inhabiting our individual online bubbles. These cell-like forms reflect in many ways our current way of life-individual and discrete worlds interwoven with the whole, caving-in yet ever evolving; pulled, pushed, impacted, vulnerable, growing. In the sculpting process I try to bring out how the cloth has been woven. The interwovenness symbolizes the connections in our lives- the connections we urban dwellers have with Nature, but also with people around the globe. If one were to pull on a thread within a fabric, the entire fabric is compromised.
The sculptures reference and find inspiration from plants and growth I encounter during my long walks along east coast park and the plant lined residential areas around my studio. Organic forms captivate me because the very forms suggest how living beings incrementally adapt to circumstances. In this context the sculptures become paintings in space, a three dimensional mark-making symbolic of how each of us is navigating and responding to the new reality we find ourselves in. But asking the question "how can we anticipate the long-term impact on the human psyche of this way of life?"
The sculptures reference and find inspiration from plants and growth I encounter during my long walks along east coast park and the plant lined residential areas around my studio. Organic forms captivate me because the very forms suggest how living beings incrementally adapt to circumstances. In this context the sculptures become paintings in space, a three dimensional mark-making symbolic of how each of us is navigating and responding to the new reality we find ourselves in. But asking the question "how can we anticipate the long-term impact on the human psyche of this way of life?"
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RiddlesCloth, yarn, nails, plaster, resin, acrylics mounted on wooden board
140 x 100 x --- cm 2023 SGD 5000 |
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The Malls of HeavenCloth, plaster, resin, acrylics, wire 84 x 60 x 25 cm
2023 SGD 3800 |
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Entangled EnchantedCloth, plaster, resin, acrylics, wire 96 x 71 x 30 cm
2023 SGD 4200 |
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Swirling PsycheCloth, plaster, resin, acrylics, wire
96 x 71 x 30 cm 2023 SGD 4200 |
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Unravelling WorldsCloth, plaster, resin, acrylics, wire
100 x 43 x 17 cm 2022 SGD 2800 |
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Mundane TreasuresCloth, plaster, resin, acrylics, wire
100 x 43 x 17 cm 2022 SGD 2800 |
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Onwards 4Cloth, plaster, resin, acrylics, wire
62 x 41 x 32 cm 2020 SGD 3200 |
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Curriculum Vitae
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Solo Exhibitions
Vessels of Change, The Columns Gallery, Singapore (2020). Mind(less) Wilderness, Miaja Gallery (in collaboration with Ikkan Art Gallery), Singapore (2019). Forest Weft, City Warp, One East Asia, Singapore (2017-2018). The Material of Time, Flaneur Gallery, Singapore (2015). Selected Exhibitions Yours in Truth, Space 118 Mumbai (2022) Because It Makes Me Feel, National Gallery Singapore (2021-23) Sovereign Asian Art Prize, Art Central, Hong Kong (2021) Rules of Engagement, The Substation, Singapore (2019) Rejects, The Substation, Singapore (2019) Ethno-city, a two person show at NPE Gallery, Singapore (2019) From Lost Roots to Urban Meadows, a two person show at The Private Museum, Singapore (2019) From the Ocean to the Silver City, Australian High Commission, Singapore. Curated by Merryn Trevethan (2017) OpenArt 2017, Orebro Biennale, Orebro, Sweden. Curated by Kerstin Wagner, Lars Jonsson, Giovanna Elvira Aquirre (2017) Imaginarium: To the Ends of the Earth, 8Q Singapore Art Museum, Singapore. Curated by John Tung and Andrea Fam ( 2017) Multi, One East Asia, Singapore (2017) Fundacio L'Olivar, Catalonia, Spain (2016). Curated by Pilar Parcerisas Untapped, Chan Hampe Gallery, Singapore. Curated by Visual Arts Development Association, Singapore (2016) Repurposing Nostalgia, Singapore (2016) The Essential Rhythm 2, Two person show at Instinc, Singapore (2015) Exploring BigCi, Hawkesbury Regional Gallery, Windsor, NSW, Australia. Curated by Diana Robson (2015) Art Discovered, Art Fellas, Singapore (2015) The Ground, Bilpin International Ground for Creative Initiatives (BigCI), NSW, Australia (2014) Beyond Limits- Praxis Space, LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore (2012) |
Education
Goldsmiths, University of London by LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore (2011-2014) BA (Hons) Fine Arts (First Class Honours) Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, Kolkata, India (1998-2000) Post Graduate Diploma in Management Institute of Engineering and Technology, Lucknow, India (1994-1998) B.Tech (Electronics) Awards, Tedx and Residencies Finalist, Sovereign Asian Art Prize, 2021 Tedx Speaker, Tanglin Trust School, Singapore 2021 NPE Artist Residency, Singapore. (April-June 2019) Tedx Speaker, NIIT Warangal India 1997 National Arts Council, Capability Development Grant, Singapore (2016) Fundacio L'Olivar, Catalonia, Spain (2016) Hawkesbury Regional Gallery Residency, NSW, Australia (2015) Instinc collaboration with Austrian Artist-in Residence, Singapore (2015) Bilpin International Ground for Creative Initiatives (BigCI) Residency, NSW, Australia (2014) LASALLE Award for Academic Excellence (BA), for most outstanding BA student in the Fine Arts (2013-2014) LASALLE College of the Arts Merit Scholarship (2013-2014) LASALLE College of the Arts Merit Scholarship (2012-2013) Published Research The Time of Cities and the Time of Nature: Regarding art dealing with the disconnection between urban life and natural world Contemporary Art and the Perceived Self-Sufficiency of Urban Life The Transcendental Sublime in Contemporary Art The Evolution Of Contemporary Painting in the Face of Claims of "The Death of Painting Previous Professional Work Experience Senior Manager, Procter and Gamble, Singapore (2002-2008) Research Executive, Reckitt Benckiser, India (2000-2002) |
Nandita Mukand is a Singapore-based artist whose practice encompasses sculpture, installation and painting. Her practice explores the boundaries between the artificial and the natural. She fashions materials from the urban realm into organic forms reminiscent of the natural world. This juxtaposition of material and form questions the perpetually growing encroachment of humans onto the natural world. Her investigation is concerned not only with the impact on the environment but also with how the human psyche is implicated in this pursuit. Drawing upon her interest in ontology, neuroplasticity, quantum physics and buddhist texts, her work often explores observations of growth and decay in the wilderness in conjunction with the workings of the urban mind. In other installations she works with natural materials like dead plants, dried flowers and seeds. The interwoven aspects of contemporary life, vulnerability and chaos, resilience and graceful adaptation in the face of adversity, entropy and how we experience the passage of time -these are some of the themes that form the backdrop of her artistic practice.