At Mumbai’s Chemould/Shift, a gallery space, which is an extension of 59-year-old contemporary art gallery Chemould Prescott Road, textile artist Gurjeet Singh makes emotive soft sculptures out of discarded pieces of printed cloth.
A metaphor for rejection of the flawed, his choice of material manifests emotions triggered by childhood memories of bullying and harassment. Born and raised in Punjab’s Algon Kothi, a village nearly 50 kilometres from Amritsar, Gurjeet shares how he relates to the feeling of being ousted, just like the rejected pieces from the flawlessly consistent bolts of fabric. “They called me girlish. They would tease me, forcibly kiss me, touch me and harass me. Often, I would go home and cry,” recalls the 27-year-old Chandigarh-based artist.
