Important Notice

"I think of identity as inherently foreign; of heritage as something that leaks away from the concept of home - as happens when one first migrates."
- RINA BANERJEE

Kolkata-born, New York-based Rina Banerjee creates elaborate works out of unconventional materials, as can be seen in the present lot - an installation of the Taj Mahal, made of metal, glass bottles and cowrie shells, enclosing a fibreglass elephant, and... "I think of identity as inherently foreign; of heritage as something that leaks away from the concept of home - as happens when one first migrates."
- RINA BANERJEE

Kolkata-born, New York-based Rina Banerjee creates elaborate works out of unconventional materials, as can be seen in the present lot - an installation of the Taj Mahal, made of metal, glass bottles and cowrie shells, enclosing a fibreglass elephant, and standing on a pedestal constructed out of metal and net. "I could never be a Minimalist artist: I am interested in corrupting fine art with everything I wish for. I want adventure and to feel the same sense of command that I imagine an explorer or a scientist would - like a visitor trespassing. My art is about the value of our desire to travel." (Artist quoted in an interview with Zehra Jumabhoy, Artforum, 2011, online)

Travel, according to Banerjee, is about the freedom to explore intellectual and emotional narratives, without too much attachment to a particular community or place. The artist was born in India, grew up in London and eventually migrated to New York, and much of her work addresses the conundrums of identity and the diaspora. She often places signifiers from her home country in her works, such as the Taj Mahal and elephant in the present lot. Prior to her MFA from Yale University in 1995, Banerjee studied and worked as a polymer research chemist. "Even my interest in science embodies an awareness of other worlds, worlds that coexist with us, but which we cannot experience or know." (Artist quoted in Artforum) Banerjee's work has been exhibited at the Venice Biennale (2017), MoMA PS1 (2015) and the Centre Pompidou (2014), among others, and is in private collections worldwide.

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