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Lot Essay
The practice of Delhi-based collaborative artists Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra captures the electricity of the rapidly shifting, urbanizing landscapes of India. Their work, spanning a range of media including installation, painting, and product design, is a dynamic discourse on shifting moral codes in India's mega-cities.
Despite their photorealist attention to detailing, Thukral and Tagra engage in Surrealist flights of fancy. Here, the scantily clad figures exist in aquamarine ether, alongside flowers and clouds of foliage. The bodies can be seen in any number of product advertisements, from lingerie to perfume. Exposed yet carefully posed, they are the paradox of contemporary youthful attitudes on sexuality - postured yet bold. Floating alongside are graphics alluding to safe sexual practices. Indeed, the band across the male figure's clothing baldly states 'no condom no sex.'
Thukral and Tagra employ exuberant palettes and the glossy sheen of pop aesthetics to critically analyze taboo subjects like sexuality, in this socially-conscious and vibrant work. Initially shown at the exhibition Put it On at Bose Pacia Gallery in New York, and part of a larger art project, this painting aims to generate awareness about HIV and AIDS and preventative measures.
Works by Thukral and Tagra have been shown in various international solo exhibitions, including Windows of Opportunity at Art Plural, Singapore, in 2013; Longing for Tomorrow at Nature Morte, Berlin, 2012; Science, Mystery and Magic at the Tokyo Gallery + BTAP in 2011; Middle Class Dreams at Arario Gallery, Seoul, in 2010; Match-Fixed at Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, in 2010.
Despite their photorealist attention to detailing, Thukral and Tagra engage in Surrealist flights of fancy. Here, the scantily clad figures exist in aquamarine ether, alongside flowers and clouds of foliage. The bodies can be seen in any number of product advertisements, from lingerie to perfume. Exposed yet carefully posed, they are the paradox of contemporary youthful attitudes on sexuality - postured yet bold. Floating alongside are graphics alluding to safe sexual practices. Indeed, the band across the male figure's clothing baldly states 'no condom no sex.'
Thukral and Tagra employ exuberant palettes and the glossy sheen of pop aesthetics to critically analyze taboo subjects like sexuality, in this socially-conscious and vibrant work. Initially shown at the exhibition Put it On at Bose Pacia Gallery in New York, and part of a larger art project, this painting aims to generate awareness about HIV and AIDS and preventative measures.
Works by Thukral and Tagra have been shown in various international solo exhibitions, including Windows of Opportunity at Art Plural, Singapore, in 2013; Longing for Tomorrow at Nature Morte, Berlin, 2012; Science, Mystery and Magic at the Tokyo Gallery + BTAP in 2011; Middle Class Dreams at Arario Gallery, Seoul, in 2010; Match-Fixed at Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, Beijing, in 2010.