NS Harsha
Victoria Miro Gallery I, London, UK
11 April – 18 May 2019
We at The Art Berries recently visited NS Harsha’s exhibition at Victoria Miro Gallery, and we wanted to share a few photos and reflections from the show.
The work that captured our attention is “Tamasha” (2013), an installation of larger-than-life monkeys arranged on a scaffolding structure. The monkeys point skywards, their tails intertwined and tethered to one another, creating a complex web of movement and tension. Tamasha can refer to political upheaval or human folly. Harsha also draws on the folklore of the rat king, a phenomenon documented in northern traditions since the sixteenth century, often linked to superstition and viewed as a harbinger of plague and misfortune.
In the photos below, you’ll see The Art Blackberry interacting with the installation: pointing to the heavens and positioning herself alongside the scaffolding, among the suspended, tethered monkeys. Since monkeys are our distant ancestors, it felt entirely fitting—if slightly mischievous—to join the scene. 😛
NS Harsha (born 1969) is an Indian artist from Mysore, where he continues to live and work. He works across media including painting, sculpture, site-specific installation, and public projects. His pieces “depict daily experiences in Mysore, southern India, where he is based, but also reflect wider cultural, political and economic globalization issues,” exploring the absurdity of the real world, the tension between representation and abstraction, and repeating imagery. His practice draws inspiration from both Indian popular and miniature painting. (Source: Wikipedia)
Discover more about the exhibition and NS Harsha’s work at Victoria Miro: Victoria Miro Gallery
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