Frida Kahlo Wears a Bindi

Kanchan Chander’s solo in 2006 was a retrospective that comprised over three decades of her work,but in her current exhibition “Migrating Memories”,she opts for introspection. She,however,does revisit themes that have influenced her for a long time. “The ideas recur. Sometimes I think I’m done with them but then I can’t run away from them either,” says Chander,52,as she glances at the artwork on display at Galerie Romain Rolland and points out to a canvas titled Khajuraho. “I visited Khajuraho as a student of Delhi College of Art. While painting the canvas,I referred to some sketches made back then,” she says.

In another series titled “Modern Classic”,the male torso,that has made appearances in Chander’s artwork for over a decade,occupies centrestage. The photographs taken by the artist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,New York,act as the base and she works on Photoshop to create collages — juxtaposing the torso with nuts and bolts in one and layering another with her trademark laces and coloured feathers. “It represents the metrosexual drive. Men are very conscious about their looks now,” says Chander.

Reflecting back also entails tributes and Chander dedicates a series to the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. “In a lot of ways I have been influenced by Amrita Sher-Gil and Frida,” says Chander. On inkjet paper,she brings together photographs of her and Kahlo. In some instances,Kahlo occupies a corner of the frame and in others she is in the foreground. She wears a bindi and has sequins on her hair bun and even finds a place on the label of a wine bottle. “Both of us like the drink,” laughs Chander. The rather kitschy artwork did lead to amused glares.

The exhibition at Galerie Romain Rolland,Alliance Francaise,ends today