Sleep Chorus I - X
Exhibited in A Show of Hands | In Memoriam: Gieve Patel curated by Ranjit Hoskote, at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, November 2024
Sleep chorus I-VIII
Oil paint and polyester body filler on galvanized steel with caster wheels
2024
The primary forms make reference to ancient headrests and pillows (Egyptian,Japanese,Ethiopian and more), and the pedestals that hold them come from the forms of medical stretchers, motifs I have worked with in the past. The work responds to Gieve's life as a doctor and painter - the tactile quality in nurturing patients and paintings; the earthy palette of his paintings and the faded, worn surface of rexine pillows in doctor's clinics in Bombay suburbs, where all kinds of heads find respite. I was thinking about the idea of rest and care, which were very much part of his being, and his sense of openness - in creativity, and towards people.