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Over the years, the Taj Mahal has become an icon of immortal love. This is a work, composed of rows of miniature steel Taj Mahals which function as bricks that create a huge wall – a visual obstruction.

Sudarshan Shetty asks us to consider what the making of a cultural icon does to the object that is iconicized. The monumental wall is composed of hundreds of souvenir Taj Mahals. In contrast to the magnificence of the marble mausoleum, the steel models symbolize modernity and mechanization. Simultaneously, the idea of an original is disrupted as the monument turns into a mould to enable mindless re-productions. Since certain expressions of love become generic – endlessly used and abused, manipulated and manufactured – the economization of a universal emotion is clearly implicated in this installation.

One recalls the encased models of the Taj Mahal being sold outside the mausoleum complex. These seem to stand as urns that ‘contain’ the majestic structure, continually invoking the visual experience that has lapsed into memory. Shetty converses with the memory-image that has entered public consciousness. The accompanying video shows the Taj melting as though overheated by the expectations placed upon it. This work demonstrates Shetty’s longstanding interest in ‘de-constructing’ the human experience and cultural convention.