Shedding and Growing are photo series and videos that the artist created from installations of the same titles. Growing creates a visual experience out of numerous incense sticks multiplying and filling a room. While the installation created a powerful scent and environment, the photos and videos both suggest and elide this sensory experience. Shedding depicts long brushes, made of black horsehair, that hang from the ceiling. The artist created vibrations that caused these brushes to shed their hair and accumulate in a thick, black carpet on the floor. Shedding references the hair of pilgrims, which when cut in religious centers, is an act of devout belief and personal sacrifice – which is further commodified and exported in the form of wigs used for a variety of transformations by its future users. The artist takes a closer look at the manifold strategies with which we hide, expose or transform ourselves, giving in to society’s constantly changing demands for individuality and belonging. Beyond an impressive aesthetic play of form and process, Bhuta raises important questions about the manipulation and the covering up of reality. |
