In one of the paintings in Cut Pieces, a solo show by Kerala-born, Baroda-based artist KP Reji, the artist paints Yoko Ono as she sat on stage in her 1964 performance similarly titled Cut Piece. What both works of art — the performance and the show — have in common is their commentary on violence. Reji uses everyday views, objects, and cultural connotations to highlight the socio-political underbelly of society, the insanity of violence and the state machinery’s ordering of people’s lives. The views and subjects portrayed are realistic and familiar. This ensures that the paintings are bound by the shared experience of all viewers, and you are able to recognise the overarching themes in your own home (Police in the Kitchen), in our community (Police in the Garden), and world (Police in the Forest).

Police in the Forest