Continuing his practice of stringing together the anthropological significance behind some of the oldest architectural wonders found in the narrow bylanes of north Kolkata, Rathin Barman’s fourth solo exhibition at Experimenter is aptly called There is Now a Wall. Conceived to tell the stories deduced from the lived memories and anecdotes of their residence, Barman strives to tell the story of two patriarchs who divided their original house with a wall running through the courtyard, which led Barman to create the central piece of this exhibition. Brass inlays on concrete – both red and its original white are significant to Barman’s style.
Notes from Lived Spaces is a series of sculptures that “resemble building blocks stacked atop and nestled within each other, with architectural intricacies of windows, trellises and grilles”.
Transitory Spaces is a series of wall-based sculptures that go on to show other parts of the house, both from the purviews of architecture and anecdotes. “While some of them highlight their altered current arches and pillars through brass projections, others have scaffolding-like structures protruding from their surfaces resembling a parasitic, modern grid imposed over a series of reinforced concrete board panels with drawings and perspective notations.”
The exhibition is on till April 2 at Experimenter, Hindustan Road
Pictures: The artist & gallery
