Singapore-based artist Nandita Mukand’s solo exhibition “Mind(less) Wilderness” is a bold and spellbinding exploration that mingles the way plants grow in the forest with the workings of the urban mind.
The work draws inspiration from resources as diverse as neuroplasticity, quantum physics, contemporary Buddhist texts, and ancient Vedic literature.
Produced by Miaja Gallery in collaboration with Ikkan Art Gallery, "Mind(less) Wilderness” will run from now till March 2, 2019 at Miaja Gallery’s new art space.
Indian origin Nandita graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts (First Class) from Goldsmiths, College of London via LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore. An alumna of the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, she has a degree in Electronics Engineering. Her works have been exhibited and collected in Singapore and internationally.
Science suggests that the human brain has huge potential for renewal and growth. Drawing from this thought, Nandita ponders how plants effortlessly adapt to a variety of environmental conditions, taking on graceful forms as they grow.
In the same way, she finds, humans adapt to their circumstances. Yet old neural pathways remain addicted to familiar thought patterns, often slowing down our ability to change and adapt at the fast pace that contemporary living demands. This results in a feeling of enslavement, as one is unable to catch up.
Using interwoven threads of cloth to epitomise the myriad ways in which today’s urban life is interconnected, Nandita shows how pulling one thread in this fabric has far reaching implications that are often difficult to anticipate. Seeds find their way into Mukand’s work, representing the potential for new ideas to blossom into fulfilling creations or to remain dormant.
The whole is encased in harmonic layers of epoxy resin, a type of plastic – signifying contemporary belief systems that restrict our true potential.