New definitions of mothering in powerful new Pune exhibition

Indian Express

3 days ago

The latest exhibition at Vida Heydari Contemporary art gallery in Koregaon Park is 'Mothering' – but there is none of the quintessential mother-and-child works on display. Instead, among the first images one sees are Shivangi Ladha's 'Rise' and 'Care'. These are expressions of an Indian artist who is, now, based in London. Her distance from the familiarity of her home and motherland emerges as a 'tension between isolation and collective strength'. This is, especially, true for 'Care', where women figures stand upright, hands stretched overhead, like so many trees in a community forest. 'Her practice also draws from her own experiences as an immigrant—finding sustenance and protection within circles of fellow artists, who stand in as guardians to one another,' says the official statement from the gallery.
'Mothering', which will be on view till September 5, comprises, besides Ladha, the works of Aravani Art Project, a Bengaluru-based collective space for people from the transgender community, Chathuri Nissansala, a multidisciplinary artist based in Sri Lanka, Liactuallee, a queer visual artist from Mumbai who creates powerful soft sculptures using, as the exhibition shows, material such as acrylic yarn and polyfill, and Roghayeh Najdi, whose works deep dive into the realities of women in her homeland, Iran.
The captivating work, 'Other Ways to Hold' by Aravani Art Project depicts four figures who appear to be arranged for a comfortable family photo. Another shows a transgender with a kitten. Both images redefine the concepts of family and expand the embrace of mothering. Liactuallee's series of sculptures capture an urge to break straitjackets and expand the self in every which way.
For Nissansala, who has documented a performance that they carried out in Sri Lanka, 'mothering is an act of quiet, transformative reclamation. They/She performs with discarded and found objects transforming them into embroidered deities—an act of queer ancestral resurrection through nurturing and ritual. This tender gaze repairs grief through gentle reclamation, honoring the lives of queer Sri Lankans while resisting erasure'.
Najdi presents the women in her works like undeveloped negatives from the days before digital photography. Men, who are hostile figures, make up the background. Works like 'Hear Your Voice In The Silence' that was created this year, shows women supporting and holding up one another. The defiant flowers in the paintings come across as resistance, hope and self-care, like individual blooms put together as a powerful whole.
Dipanita Nath is interested in the climate crisis and sustainability. She has written extensively on social trends, heritage, theatre and startups. She has worked with major news organizations such as Hindustan Times, The Times of India and Mint. ... Read More