Ever since the pandemic set in, we’ve not been able to touch or hold anyone. Hands are a very important part of sharing that emotion. It has tremendous powers to express one’s emotions,” says popular artist Shan Re. Her latest work, which has been selected to be displayed at Chicago-based foundation Terrain Biennial 2021, depicts these thoughts. Incidentally, Re’s daughter, Romicon Revola too, will be showing her art work as part of the show.
In line with this year’s theme, ‘Keep in Touch’, the artists used human emotions as the base of their work. The idea behind the exhibition is to repurpose private spaces such as front yards, porches, windows and turn them into public areas to share a message and converse with neighbours. This is meant to provide opportunities for artists and viewers to ‘experience perspectives’.
Using the pandemic as a peg, Shan’s installation uses images of hands to depict the underlying emotions the pandemic has evoked. “It’s the means by which we express ourselves and the outward manifestation of the inner capacity to handle our reality and experiences,” says Re, who crowdsourced thoughts and feelings about the pandemic, and has used different colours to talk about them. Be it sayings like ‘I’m feeling isolated’, ‘Being alive is a gift’, ‘Kill Covid’, ‘Reflecting on my journey’, ‘Lockdown fatigue’, or various emoticons to express one’s feelings, the installation says them all.
Installing it in Langford Town at her friend’s residence, Re’s work will be suspended from the balcony for viewing. “As an artist and an art therapist, I want to spread positivity and hope through various social media platforms. I am helping them embrace uncertainty and stay connected,” she says.
Daughter Revola’s installation will be displayed in Rajarajeshwari Nagar in a two-storeyed building of her friend’s home as well. “During the lockdowns, text messages were our main mode of communication. It teleported us to where we wanted to be through sentences and characters. It also allowed us to share our fears and hopes,” she says.
Which is why her art revolves around the concept of ‘The Human Alphabet’ and is a text-based artwork that combines typography and figurative elements. She adds, “‘Smiles are key’, ‘Stay safe’ and ‘Kindness is contagious’ were the most commonly used phrases. All of these have been incorporated in my work.”
Both the installations will be on display from October 2 to November 15 in Langford Town and Rajarajeshwari Nagar for public viewing.