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Lot 103

 

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Artists Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra, popularly branded and known as Thukral and Tagra, draw from a variety of traditions including advertising, architecture, photorealism, pop art and Surrealism to create works that are often satirical takes on popular culture. The duo’s works are executed in a wide variety of media including graphics, videos, music, interiors, product design, paintings, sculpture and installations.

Thukral and Tagra's... Artists Jiten Thukral and Sumir Tagra, popularly branded and known as Thukral and Tagra, draw from a variety of traditions including advertising, architecture, photorealism, pop art and Surrealism to create works that are often satirical takes on popular culture. The duo’s works are executed in a wide variety of media including graphics, videos, music, interiors, product design, paintings, sculpture and installations.

Thukral and Tagra's quirky and, at times, kitschy works blur the lines between fine art and popular culture, product placement and exhibition design, artistic inspiration and media hype. They use their vibrant and energetic compositions to raise serious questions about the globalisation of consumer culture, the loss of identity experienced by Indians in their own sub-continent, and their repercussions worldwide.

As seen in Canis Familiaris where the torso of a dog is juxtaposed with various ornamental elements, the artistic duo displays "a strong penchant for images that float in a deep yet flat space of unmodulated colour; juxtaposing trompe l'oeil 3-D with graphic two dimensionality; for strong colours tempered by a liberal use of white as a colour itself. ... T&T's graphic sensibility loves to miniaturise and digitise all manner of things (animal, vegetable, mineral), folding them into their batter and creating picture-search puzzles which endlessly tease the viewer's eyes." (Peter Nagy, Trevor Smith et al, "Neo- Neo-Classicisms," Thukral & Tagra, New Delhi: Nature Morte and New York: Bose Pacia, 2007, p. 54)

Somnium Genero is a series of works executed by the duo from 2005 onwards. As seen in Somnium Genero Aeris 04, everyday objects such as alarm clocks, bells, cameras, and household appliances are rearranged and presented in association with flora and fauna, so as to give them an illusion of life and suggest that these commodities are fully assimilated into nature. The artists employ a satirical lens to compel the audience to face the excesses of their materialistic lifestyle.

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