I made my first installation in 1991. This was called Alleyway, Lohar Chawl. It consisted of seven ink drawings of 9 x 4 ft. on Mylar or transparent polyester film. These were hung so one could see each of the drawings superimposed on the other. I left a passage through which a person could walk through and become a part of the superimpositions. The drawings were of the homeless of Lohar Chawl and they were life size; the person who then walked through would be engulfed by these people.
The second installation, called City Of Desires, was done in 1992. I drew and painted directly on the walls of Gallery Chemould. The floor too was painted with thick red oxide. This project came about as a protest against the destruction of the century-old frescoes at Nathdwara. My work would be destroyed in 15 days in replication of the destruction of the work of the artists of Nathdwara. This site-specific ephemeral work had a wrap around of images. It was at this juncture that I felt the need to work with a performing artist.
The next project was in collaboration with the actress Alaknanda Samarth. We worked with the text of Heiner Mueller entitled Medeamaterial. This project was realised on the premises of Max Mueller Bhavan. I worked out the various receptacles that could contain her performances. The first one was on the street, the second in the gallery/foyer and the last in the auditorium. Apart from walls and spaces being painted, I shot the character of Jason on video in the manner of interactive video conferencing. Medeaspiel or The Theatre of Images was shot on slide film like a vivant tableau with six actors. The love story of Jason and Medea is seen through 60 slides.
Medeamaterial and City Of Desires have been shot on video and shown as art objects along with my paintings, at various art centres.
- Lalit Kala Contemporary, 2013