New Zealand-based artist Areez Katki, whose roots lie in Tardeo, is currently showing his first solo exhibition in Mumbai, ‘Bildungsroman (& Other Stories)’. The son of Parsi immigrants spent time in this city between 2018 and 2019, searching through his identity for stories. Food, Art Deco, religious symbols, as also questions of spirituality, migrant experience and sexuality, all find a place in the resulting works. Katki employs traditional embroidery on everyday items — dust cloths and tote bags rather than expensive saris — for this exploration.

Curated by Anna Miles, the show is on display at Fort’s TARQ Gallery. “After an initial studio visit to his aunt’s home in Tardeo, and a series of conversations, we decided to do the show in mid-2020,” says gallerist Hena Kapadia. If the Covid-19 pandemic had not caused plans to be delayed by a year, Katki could have been in the city for it, she says. Encouragingly, on the other hand, Kapadia has been noting an increase in the number of visitors, which are similar to levels observed before the Covid-19 pandemic.