Shilpa Gupta
PROJECT
Words come from ears presents fragmented words and phrases on a flap board, typically used to display train departure information. The poetic messages are programmed to include mistakes, typos and missing letters, prompting the viewer to interpret meaning by mentally filling in the blanks. Borrowing from the visual language of conventional signage, the work examines signage as a silent, accepted method of control. Gupta highlights imposed boundaries and the human will to transgress them, in turn revealing the subversive potential of bodies and ideas. The work remains in constant flux, with Gupta programming the board’s sixty-four characters to continuously construct and dismantle words and lines of text.
The acquisition of this artist’s work is supported by Josie Taylor, and Michael Buxton AM & Janet Buxton
ABOUT
Shilpa Gupta is one of the most highly regarded contemporary artists in India. Her interdisciplinary practice interrogates individual and collective cultural identities and systems prioritised by nationalism, trade and security.
Gupta lives and works in Mumbai, India, where she studied sculpture at the Sir J. J. School of Fine Arts from 1992 to 1997. Her works have been exhibited widely internationally, including at Serpentine Galleries, London (UK); Centre Pompidou, Paris (France); Musée d’art contemporain de Lyon, Lyon (France); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (Japan); and the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk (Denmark). Her work is represented in the collections of the Tate (UK), Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York and Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (US); Centre Pompidou, Paris (France); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (Japan); M+ Museum, Hong Kong; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk (Denmark); Jameel Art Foundation, Dubai (UAE); and the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi (India).
Watch