Q. The Infinite Episode is your second solo exhibition in Paris, the first being in 2013. What does showcasing in Paris mean to you?
A. Paris is the quintessential historic art city, so there is a special delight in exhibiting here. On September 5, all Parisian galleries simultaneously open exhibitions after the summer break, so the art scene has a renewed energy at this time.


Jitish Kallat in his studio with the graphite drawings, Wind Study (The Hour of the Day of the Month of the Season), in the background 

Q. What is your new exhibition about?
A. The Infinite Episode is the coming together of various strands of work. I'm exhibiting a set of new drawings titled Wind Study (The Hour of the Day of the Month of the Season). I begin these works with a graphite drawing, over which I lay an inflammable fluid that I set aflame, one line at a time. The movement of wind at the moment of combustion determines the direction in which the emergent fumes leave their mark on the surface of the paper. I often think of these drawings as a conversation between wind and fire. Formally speaking, the drawings are loosely reminiscent of unknown neural networks, constellations or sacred geometries. The themes of time, sustenance, sleep, along with an interplay of scales and proximities, and evocations of the celestial recur throughout the exhibition. The seven-part lenticular photographic work titled Sightings D9M4Y2015, are close details of the surfaces of fruits, as well as their visual negative image seen within the same frame. Viewed up-close, the fruit's surface and its inverse begin to appear like telescopic snapshots of cosmic supernova explosions witnessed on the surface of a fruit. The sculpture titled, The Infinite Episode, is an assembly of 10 sleeping vertebrates — a cosmic dormitory, wherein their bodily sizes are equalised in their state of sleep.