Stepping into Pallavi Paul’s ‘How Love Moves’ at Gropius Bau, the core theme of the exhibition unravels without needing a preamble. ‘Salt Moon’ (2023), a multimedia artwork that fills an entire room with soil-filled containers adorned with sculptures that look like tombstones, serves as a straightforward reference to a cemetery. This threshold, a symbolic point of transition into the realm of the dead, marks the entry point to other parts of the exhibition. But there is nothing morbid or ghastly about it. Projectors illuminate slabs of stone, displaying close-up footage of nature—birds and insects going about their day—accompanied by matching soundscapes that fill the space. While conjuring a sense of eternal stillness, the installation teems with life, offering a spiritual affirmation that death is inseparable from life, and grief from love. This sets a sorely needed serene tone for the challenging themes explored throughout the show.
Love and Loss: Pallavi Paul at Gropius Bau
by Adela Lovric, Berlin Art Link, April 26, 2024
