Mahesh Baliga, who is currently working on a solo slated for January 2020, tells us the story behind this work: “A laborer comes to display an exhibit, but when he and the object are juxtaposed, it creates a pun, and also a sense of ambiguity [about] who is carrying the other. But there are also two conventions of image-making that address the East-West dilemma—the flatness of the Western modern and the linearity of the Indian tradition.” Baliga found himself referencing the Egyptian use of profiles in this painting, which is essentially built around the idea of art-making as an act of labor.
25 contemporary pieces by Indian artists that cost a lakh or less
Displaying by Mahesh Baliga
Rosalyn D'mello, Vogue, December 27, 2019
