Shadow City - A life after, Sudarshan Shetty, Industrial wood, 2018

The underlying artifice of putting on a show of art is at the root of the work. The artist is performing a role; either literally or at a poetic distance as an exploration into the efficacy and futility of objects.

In assuming this role a way is opened to invoke (or simply borrow) the seriousness and sincerity of a formal gesture.

The wooden skeletal structures are produced by the help of local craftsmen who make objects for various religious and social ceremonies and events. These structures are made every year only to be dismantled after its transient function is once served.  Rice, a physical and perishable material, stands as a fundamental symbol for food and nourishment in most rituals of death. 

The play between the two familiar elements rendered unfamiliar through an unlikely coming together, perhaps opens up possibilities for other meanings to emerge