TARQ and Gallery XXL present: "Ephemeroptera: Time After Time"

TARQ and Gallery XXL are delighted to announce our upcoming exhibition Ephemeroptera: Time After Time. Curated by Dhwani Gudka, the show features artists Amitabh Kumar, Daku, Nibha Sikander, Philippe Calia, Sajid Wajid Shaikh, and Vishwa Shroff.

Ephemeroptera is the scientific name for Mayflies - creatures whose lives span anywhere between thirty minutes to twenty-four hours. Early in his career, Sigmund Freud wrote about the evanescence of life and nature enhanced the beauty of it. Seasons, growth, decay and death exist in a periodic cycle, and yet, it is natural that we mourn the loss of it all… Gudka states, "In this exhibition, we see works that try to fossilise images, we see attempts at capturing the residues of loss - memorials to lost buildings, species and ways of life."
Amitabh Kumar, who has worked across mulitiple formats on sequential narratives, with this new series is responding to a moment of transition for the viewer, where the eye adjusts to changing luminous situations.
- Amitabh Kumar, Five Flags of the Black Sun - V, 2023
For the first time, Nibha Sikander displays her work as a site-specific installation. This installation of Negatives, the papers that she uses to cut out her artworks from, plays with light and shadow to create an ever-changing display.
Philippe Calia’s photographs of discarded materials in the city examine the transient nature of reality. Viewing the city as a fictional, fleeting object, Calia showcases the sculptural and surreal qualities of Mumbai.
- Philippe Calia, After Party (Department of Sculpture), 2016
- Philippe Calia, Sawdust Flood (Sassoon Docks), 2022
Sajid Wajid Shaikh's mixed media works are spontaneous, created through psychic automatism, that confront the artist's innermost fears and anxieties. Through these sketches, Shaikh transmutes his inner struggles into powerful expressions, inviting viewers to explore the depths of the human psyche and embrace the unknown.
- Sajid Wajid Shaikh, Nostalgia of the Present, 2023
- Sajid Wajid Shaikh, Terror and Hubris, 2023
Vishwa Shroff's architectural drawings reflect on urban forms as symbols of impermanence. Her artistic practice is firmly rooted in drawing, with a proclivity towards architectural forms that serve as compelling take-off points for a deeper contemplation on memory and our relationship with the material world. Her works seek to explore the narratives of lived experiences that lay embedded within surfaces.
Daku's recent works stem from a keen interest in the temporality of time and existence which takes form through the shifting of light and shadow. Here, the artist questions the ascribed value to a particular artist’s signature and the notion of authorship as light is the ultimate force that informs the artworks.
- Daku, Shadow Study II - D
Install Images

(Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

(Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

(Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

(Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

(Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

(Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
About the curator

Dhwani Gudka is a curator and the founder of Special Projects, an art advisory practice based out of India. Dhwani is a Fulbright-Nehru Fellow (2018-20) with a Masters in Art History and Museum Studies from NYU. She has spent a decade working in various capacities within the South Asian art ecosystem. Recently she curated the exhibition, 'Old Skin for the New Ceremony' for The Eight Foundation, New Delhi.

Click here to read more about the artists

Click here to read more about Gallery XXL

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.