Ephemeroptera: Time After Time: Tarq and Gallery XXL

TARQ and Gallery XXL are delighted to announce our upcoming exhibition Ephemeroptera: Time After Time. The show features artists Amitabh Kumar, Daku, Nibha Sikander, Philippe Calia, Sajid Wajid Shaikh, and Vishwa Shroff.

As per the curatorial note, Ephemeroptera is the scientific name for Mayflies - creatures whose lives span anywhere between thirty minutes to twenty-four hours. Early in his career, Sigmund Freud wrote about the evanescence of life and nature enhanced the beauty of it. Seasons, growth, decay and death exist in a periodic cycle, and yet, it is natural that we mourn the loss of it all... In this exhibition, we see works that try to fossilise images, we see attempts at capturing the residues of loss - memorials to lost buildings, species and ways of life. Using wit, humour and history, the present exhibition is a meditation on memory, permanence and transience.

Amitabh Kumar, who has worked across multiple formats on sequential narratives, with this new series, is responding to a moment of transition for the viewer, where the eye adjusts to changing luminous situations. Thinking about relativity of light, Daku's recent works stem from a keen interest in the temporality of time and existence which takes form through the shifting of light and shadow. Here, the artist questions the ascribed value to a particular artist’s signature and the notion of authorship as light is the ultimate force that informs the artworks. Next to this, for the first time, Nibha Sikander displays her work as a site-specific installation. This installation of Negatives, the papers that she uses to cut out her artworks from, plays with light and shadow to create an ever-changing display. Philippe Calia’s photographs of discarded materials in the city examine the transient nature of reality. Viewing the city as a fictional, fleeting object, Calia showcases the sculptural and surreal qualities of Mumbai. Sajid Wajid Shaikh's mixed media works are spontaneous, created through psychic automatism, that confront the artist's innermost fears and anxieties. Through these sketches, Shaikh transmutes his inner struggles into powerful expressions, inviting viewers to explore the depths of the human psyche and embrace the unknown. Vishwa Shroff's architectural drawings reflect on urban forms as symbols of impermanence.