Gallery Sarah
Of Place and Places is Radhika Khimji’s second solo show at Gallery Sarah in Muscat. This exhibition brings together Khimji’s photographic collages and sculptural works in order to elaborate on her ongoing research into place and places.
Of Place and Places opens on the 30th of March 2016 and marks Omani-Indian artist Radhika Khimji’s second solo show at Gallery Sarah in Muscat.
This exhibition brings together Khimji’s photographic collages and sculptural works in order to elaborate on her ongoing research into place and places. The notion of place and places, in their singular and plural form, brings to mind, points in space – for Khimji, a compass. A place acts as the stationary centre, around which the needle of the compass moves, circulating several places as they turn. One can belong to a place and many places simultaneously, roots can multiply and we as individuals are composed of many parts. To be of both place and places is to be a kaleidoscope, a jigsaw, a mosaic, a broken mirror.
One of the aspects of her artistic practice is the search for landscape as a site for her sculptures to belong within. Yet, there is a jarring impossibility of the two ever meeting here, as the collages remain on the gallery walls while Khimji’s sculptures live in space: both are different and therefore negotiate space differently. Sculptures perform different gestures and are tied together by wool incorporating wooden backgrounds as supports. This particular body of sculptural work brings to attention gesture and how the body performs in space.
The photo collages form the beginning of a new series entitled Across the Tropic of Cancer, based on research into the Kutchi communities of Oman , the place in India where the artists ancestors come from, their heritage and how they first they arrived to Oman. In Of Place and Places the artist has used images of abandoned houses in Kutch as well as street scenes in Muscat in order to explore resonances and similarities between the two places. There is a sense of lacking, of absence, in both sites, and an emptiness that is in direct contrast to the sculptures present in such close proximity within the same space. Radhika graduated from the Royal Academy of Art in 2005. Previous solo exhibitions include B-Sides at Nature Morte Gallery in India (2009), Safe landings at Barka Castle in Oman (2010), Found Gesture at the Katara art Center in Qatar (2012). Her work was also part of the Jogja Biennale (2013), Fragments 2 at Gallery Sarah (2014), the 4th Ghetto Biennale, Port –Au – Prince, Haiti (2015) and more recently 6th Marrakesh Biennale, Marrakesh, Morocco (2016) and Art Dubai (2016).
Located in the historical part of Old Muscat and part of the Bait Al Zubair Museum complex, Gallery Sarah is a unique contemporary art gallery which opened its doors in 2013. The gallery exhibits artworks including, but not limited to paintings, graphics, calligraphy, installations, sculpture and photography. Apart from trying to create a strong connection between established and emerging Omani artists and the international art world, Gallery Sarah also supports and has an appreciation for work by a wide variety of talented Arab artists from around the Gulf and international artists.
Of Place and Places will be on display from the 30th of March till the 20th of April 2016 from 9.30am till 6pm, Saturday till Thursday at Gallery Sarah at Bait Al Zubair. For more information about the artist please visit www.radhikakhimji.com and for more information about the exhibition and Gallery Sarah activities please call 22084747 or visit us on social media.