Artist Gurjeet Singh's First Solo Exhibition Battles Darkness With Kaleidoscopic Light

Artist Gurjeet Singh's First Solo Exhibition Battles Darkness With Kaleidoscopic Light
Gurjeet Singh

Gurjeet Singh is a soft sculpture artist from Chandigarh, Punjab. His work is informed by the everyday decorative practice he witnessed around him while growing up, gaining an interest in Fine Art after learning the basics of stitching and embroidery from his mother and sisters at home and spending time with his father who deals in scooter repair work. He works primarily in sculpture, painting, drawing and installation and was the recipient of the INLAKS Fine Art Award in 2021.

His exotic, colourful soft scultures address the LGBTQIA+ stories which take place behind closed doors, aiming to share these hidden stories and narratives with society. His work is a component of a series that deals with stereotypical terms and the thoughts and behaviours within society, like one of his pieces where the story is centred around a boy named Manavgeet and the constraints and suffering he experiences throughout his journey including forced conversion therapy for his sexuality, superstitions, homophobia and self-discovery.

Gurjeet’s work has been showcased at Shrishti Art Gallery, Hyderabad, Lalit Kala Academy, Chandigarh, Museum of Goa, Himachal State Museum and at The Nehru Center, Indian High Commission, London. But His first solo exhibition just began on November 10 and will be up till December 23, 2022, at Chemould Prescott Road, a privately owned commercial art gallery which started as a branch concern of Gallery Chemould, one of India's oldest leading contemporary art galleries, based in Mumbai.

Lumbi Zuban, Lovers (dream sequence)
Lumbi Zuban, Lovers (dream sequence)Gurjeet Singh

Gurjeet's show is called This is What It’s Like to Be Fabulous and it continues the themes of queerness and feminity like his previous work. The show is described as, “Bejewelled butthole mouths, kaleidoscopic eyes and a riot of phallic objects spilling out of every possible crevice point to all the things we’ve been made to hide away deep inside of us. Every grotesque desire, every illicit thought, every insatiable impulse, protruding out into the world and dazzling under the spotlights.”

Gurjeet shares his intention for this show in an interview with Platform, “At a time when the world is heavy and serious, I want to put out something that defeats the darkness around us. Through this exhibition, I wanted to make larger points about society in a way full of love and sweetness, and not hate. I don’t want to be the one to perpetuate a cycle of hate and bitterness. That’s why I call my work a meethi dawai, uska assar khaane ke baad dheere dheere hoga (a sweet medicine, it will make a difference slowly and with love)”

Follow Gurjeet here and find out more about his show here.

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