Home Ground: Saju Kunhan

TARQ is delighted to present Saju Kunhan’s second solo show at the gallery, Home Ground. In this exhibition Saju continues to explore themes of migration and displacement through his method of image transfers on teak wood. Also featured in this exhibition for the first time, are the artist’s works on paper. This body of work investigates the more personal side of Saju’s practice, representing his ancestral home and the multiple migrations undertaken by his family.

As described by Skye Arundhati Thomas, "Kunhan methodically edits and swells the attributes that enliven the family history: as though each stage is one step closer to fleshing out the fullness of the narrative. And yet, the tentative nature of how he handles the telling allows what are essentially oral histories to still retain their fleeting quality. Additional specifics may be added on but, still, nothing remains fixed."

Stemming from a belief that history is a collection of memories, Saju plumbs the memories of his ancestors to create works that chart his family’s past of migration, displacement, colonialism and conquest. Through his engravings on remnants of red oxide flooring from his ancestral home in Palakkad, Kerala, Saju reflects on the history of his family via the oral narratives shared with him by the previous generations of his family. 

Though these works are intensely personal, they represent the existence of a larger community. Blurring the lines between personal and public, myth and history, fact and fiction Saju continues to use maps and maquettes to represent the imagined settlements of his ancestors while also paying homage to the refugees currently sheltering in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan and the systematic deforestation of the Amazon forest.

This exhibition is accompied by a catalogue essay written by Skye Arundhati Thomas and will also be a part of this year's edition of Mumbai Gallery Weekend. 

Saju Kunhan received his BFA degree from the Government College of Fine Art, Thrissur, before pursuing his MFA in painting from the Sir J.J. School of Art, Mumbai. In 2014, Kunhan received a Post-Graduate Diploma degree in Museology and Conservation from CSMVS Museum, Mumbai.

Kunhan had his first solo exhibition, Stained Geographies at TARQ, Mumbai in 2017. He has been a part of several group exhibitions like - Shifting Selves: Between meaning, mytholgy and mirage featuring works from the Sarmaya Arts Foundation collection at TARQ, Mumbai (2021); Lokame Tharavadu, a group show in Alappuzha, Kerala curated by Bose Krishnamachari (2021), Traversing Histories, a two person show curated by Jitha Karthikeyan at Artimis Cars, Chennai (2019); India Art Fair, represented by TARQ, Mumbai (2019); Mapping Frontiers, curated by Lina Vincent Sunish as part of the Krishnakriti Festival, Hyderabad (2018); Mattancherry, curated by Riyas Komu at URU Art Harbour, Kochi (2017); Young Subcontinent, curated by Riyas Komu at the Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa (2016); Scape & Scope, anniversary group show of TAO Art Gallery at Jahangir Art Gallery, Mumbai (2016); Liminal Affinities, the inaugural exhibition at Nine Fish Art Gallery, Mumbai (2015); The Deep Inside at Kalakriti Art Gallery, Hyderabad (2015) and Memento Mori, a group show at TARQ, Mumbai (2015).

He currently lives and works in Mumbai.