Ugandan-born Indian visual artist Varsha Nair's work speaks volumes about the issues she is passionate about in life. The prolific expat artist, who has resided in Thailand since 1995, has once again produced thought-provoking work in her latest exhibition "Shifts", at the Bridge Art Space, running from today until Jan 13.
From women having a voice in society to the impact change has on communities, her work is known for bringing to light a sense of displacement. Her multidisciplinary collaborations through the years have involved various approaches and genres, including the project Womanifesto, a biannual artist-initiated event focusing on the work of women artists.
Nair's new show, which has been curated by Nim Niyomsin, deals with contemporary landscapes and how they're constantly changing and being redefined. Nair showcases here her own work as well as collaborative and curated pieces that include mixed media, multimedia and a site-specific installation, stretching from the year 2000 until the present.
Through her exhibits, she addresses the issue of the impact gentrifying towns and cities have on people-displacement and the heightening sense of isolation on the population.
The video projections, drawings and photographs also address the illusive "/" space; the space in-between that bridges and separates, acting as a divider but also as a connecting point. While tracing ongoing change, loss and uncertainty, she showcases the tangible and abstract realities of deconstruction, reconstruction and mapping of private and communal areas.
Nair's preoccupations include the relationship between built spaces and the poignant memories they hold for the residents who once inhabited them. Now neglected, covered up and in some instances erased and forgotten, these spaces become blind spots in contemporary society.
She does groundwork by taking photos of structures that are being cleared around the city and of the traces that are left by the residents who once worked in and occupied these spaces. What she found intriguing was how humans always left behind a trace of their existence, no mater how small.
Varsha Nair with her site-specific installation Erasure at WTF Gallery, Bangkok. Photo: Ananya Patel
Nair tells us that she has always been interested to discover the type of relationship people have with their immediate environment and the sort of connection they have to places and spaces, adding that life experiences are often tied up to these places and architecture.
"Our relationship with the routes we take to traverse daily have an impact on us. So when these spaces are cleared for new structures, it is inevitable that communities and individuals will feel the impact. Today we see that the distinctiveness of areas once familiar to us is being erased," remarked Nair, who said that her work comes out of questioning things around her.
The artist discussed other issues close to her heart, saying: "Inheritance issues are prevalent in patriarchal societies.
"Where I come from, women are homemakers but very often it's the male who inherits the home. You reach a point where you start to look at things in a different way. You start to question yourself, a woman given the freedom to travel the world and be herself, how would such a women react when placed within certain traditional structures. I have done work looking at this issue too.
"I am also interested in our memory and how it is connected to places and spaces -- the individual memory as well as the collective memory. Say, for instance, my own environment; I have a long relationship with Bangkok. It's changed drastically since I first arrived. I have seen a lot of things happen -- the 1997 Asian financial crisis, for one, the experience of which is embedded into the exhibition I had at WTF gallery recently."
Speaking on her craft, Nair continued: "I don't look at drawing as something on a piece of paper, but I look at it as a more expansive thing. I went to art school, and majored in painting, but I haven't painted formally ever since.
"I started to experiment with different things. This included doing performance, making short videos, setting up projects, inviting other artists to become part of projects that I also saw as my own artwork -- including writing on art. I really saw that as actually a feminist strategy because I think us women we need to shout even louder. And I think we are in danger of being erased. Women's labour is considered to be invincible in many ways. I made a conscious decision that I would write as a project and about other artists as well."
Becoming a visual artist was a journey for Nair. She said it made her celebrate her freedom.
"In a way that with this one thing I am really completely free to do what I want to do," mused the Ugandan-born artist.
"It is really my expression. It is me wanting to go anywhere I desire. Why should I put a frame on it as in a painting? My craft is without borders in many ways. You can go in any direction, you can do a work that involves paper, video, photography, or make it interactive. And it is all one piece of work.
"The wonder is where is it going to lead me next."
Call 087-682-2221 for more information.
A photo from 'Shifts'. Photos courtesy of the artist and Bridge Art Space
