A visitor to internationally acclaimed artist Anish Kapoor's show in Mumbai, his first in India, said he felt like he was Alice in Wonderland. A cannon that fires wax and metallic planes that throw up bizarre reflections are making sure that visitors are coming away entertained
A visitor to internationally acclaimed artist Anish Kapoor's show in Mumbai, his first in India, said he felt like he was Alice in Wonderland. A cannon that fires wax and metallic planes that throw up bizarre reflections are making sure that visitors are coming away entertained
The first person that 52 year-old banker Pradeep Dubey thought of as he entered Bandra's Mehboob Studio last Tuesday, the unlikely venue of artist Anish Kapoor's first exhibition in Mumbai, was Alice. He felt a bit like her falling into the rabbit hole towards Wonderland, as he stared at his upside down reflection in a large concave stainless steel mirror ufffd Non Object (Mirror) ufffd one of the nine pieces on display.
A viewer has fun with his reflection in front of the S-Curve, a stainless steel sculpture. pics/Nimesh dave
"The sheer scale of the works is maginficent, and looking at them, I feel as though I have been transported to a different space and dimension," said Dubey, referring to the strange reflections that the stainless steel sculptures threw up.
"Physicists have been trying to do that for centuries with their instruments, but only an artist has managed to achieve that."
Monica Gandhi who remained transfixed by the S-Curve, a 9.7m-long stainless steel mirror with alternating concave and convex sides, agreed. "I feel like I've entered into a magical space, and I wish I could walk into it," said the 43 year-old teacher with a wide grin of a three year-old.
Fifty six year-old Kapoor who is one of Britain's most famous artist ufffd his exhibition at the Royal Academy London last year recorded the highest turnout for a living artist ufffd is relatively unknown in India. Part of the reason is that the Mumbai-born artist has never exhibited in the country before.
In an interview to the Guardian, UK, on November 27, Kapoor expressed his concerns about showing in India. "I have this feeling that even though there is a sort of art world there, dare I say it, I don't think it is all that sophisticated."
Two days later, at his preview in Mumbai, he said he wanted the exhibition to be open to the non-gallery going public too. "The Indian public ufffdis as sophisticated or unsophisticated as other audiences elsewhere."
Whether Alice in Wonderland makes the cut for the artist is a moot point, but Kapoor's wish that the exhibition attract a wider audience has come true.
Sachin Sharma, a 33 year-old student of cinematography at FTII, travelled from Pune to view Kapoor's works, and even plans to fly to Delhi next week where another set of art works, including the well-known Sky Mirror straight from London's Kensington Gardens, is on display at the National Gallery of Modern Art.
Sharma was intrigued by Kapoor's use of texture and colour. "Anish Kapoor's red and yellow pigment works which are being exhibited in Delhi have interesting textures. But this," he said, pointing to the installation titled, Shooting into the Corner, "is something else altogether!"
Sharma was referring to a high wall in the corner of Mehboob Studio splattered with red wax shot at it from a cannon, every 20 minutes. "Kapoor has employed texture to great effect here. The mass of red wax splattered on the walls, gathering in the centre and piled on the ground adds to the underlying imagery of violence," said Sharma.
Twenty two year-old Nehal Khan, one of the three workers at the Studio assigned to shoot the cannon, was unimpressed, though. "It would be nice if we could move the cannon and aim the wax elsewhere," he said.
With its sharp and violent sounds, the installation is meant to turn the conventional space of the gallery, ufffd traditionally considered spaces of quiet and contemplation, inside out.
For Shrimanti Saha, a student from MS University, Baroda, the choice of a film studio to display the works achieves the same result.
"The sooty, grime-filled walls and pigeons fluttering among the ceiling beams, add a new dimension to the exhibition," she said.
On till January 16, 2011. Entry is free but you have to register at https://www.anishkapoorindia.com/ or call 40203660/ 61/ 62/ 63 to book your time slot.
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