Annexation

“Annexation” by Jitish Kallat participates in two of the curatorial themes running through the exhibition. First, it is a common domestic object, although the artist has amplified its size greatly. But it is certainly not the type of domestic object one would expect to find within a royal palace, being a kerosene stove used predominantly by the urban poor. The artist covers this inverted monument in a thick skin of animals, birds and plants, taken from the ornamentation of the Victoria Terminus rail station in his hometown of Mumbai (our second curatorial theme being the use of decorative arts techniques and references in sculpture). Here, Kallat has specifically used animals that are at battle with each other, commenting on the “dog eat dog” aggression of the city and the daily struggles for survival such as cooking meals for a family.