Mumbai: What's On the Art Roster This Weekend?

It's comforting to know that when the gig faucet runs dry (not that it has) Mumbai's art candle continues to burn bright. This weekend Wild City delves deeper into the canvas than usual to bring to you an array of art-centric events covering extraordinary themes, artists and food for thought.

First off we've got an anomaly - a varied display of works by 28 artists from around the world at Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Byculla, in which the artists in question have worked around the common thread of one's 'Homelands'. The open-ended question with all its intricacies and possibilities has resulted in this expansive British Council collection and has been most 'cleverly curated' by Latika Gupta. From Jimmie Durham's child-like scrawl of a drawing of 'Our House' to Lebanese artist's Mona Hatoum's 'Prayer Mat' with a compass pointing to Mecca. Suffice to say the display will get the mind wheels whirring. Cue up some CSNY to get in the mood.

Next up, picture this. What if Hanuman were to visit the Honduras or Shiva, Switzerland? This goes beyond pointless alliterating, a bunch of artists back in 1930 actually contemplated the idea of Indian gods sitting idle in European landscapes and executed it simply by cutting and pasting the deities from Bengali prints onto these landscapes. Now the Aronofsky-levels-of-bizarre collage find themselves up for display at the Chatterjee & Lal Gallery thanks to art collector, Aditya Ruia.

And finally, we have Sakshi Art Gallery's display of K.G. Subramanyan's 36-feet-long canvas aptly titled ‘Wars of the Relics’. He painted it last year while recovering from hip surgery at 88, making his feat all the more remarkable, tracing the tragedy of war through those whose blood was spilled and those who did the spilling. In his own note, he confirms that "the relics and other devices were meant to inspire and unite, divide and cause dissension."

Conclusively, if your feet ache and your mind's been numb too long, give the beats a break and let the colour wash over this weekend. Not to mention you'd be throwing your wallet a deliciously chewy bone.

Event Dates

'Homelands': Until 9 June, all days except Wednesday 10am - 5.30pm
Cost: Adults Rs 10 | Foreigners Rs 100

Chatterjee & Lal 'Cut & Paste' exhibition: Until 29 June, all days except Sunday and Monday.
Cost: Free

War of the Relics: Until 3 June, all days except Sunday.
Cost: Free

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Words: Mandovi Menon
Image Credit (Thumbnail): War of the Relics
Image Credit (Main): Cut & Paste : Popular mid 20th Century art