Video: Capitalism, Dying Languages Inspire Nalini Malani's Modern Shadow Play
When you step into Asia Society Museum's latest contemporary exhibition, Nalini Malani: Transgressions, prepare for a sensory experience like none other. Nalini Malani, considered one of the foremost artists from India today, has created an installation that uses jewel-like lights, fluid watercolors, oscillating shadow, and an array of sounds to assail your senses.
The exhibition was curated by Michelle Yun, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at Asia Society Museum. It consists of three videos that are projected through four transparent Lexan cylinders, which the artist has painted in a manner that references the Kalighat style practiced in Bengal in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
"I don't consider myself to be a filmmaker but I use video as a painter would," says Malani of her work. In the video above, she introduces audiences to various facets of her art and describes how the rise of capitalism in India, the decline of regional languages, and the dominance of English all act as inspirations for her work.
Nalini Malani: Transgressions is on view through Augist 3, 2014 at Asia Society Museum in New York City.