Important Notice

"I have been quite dogmatic about using [bindis]. But I feel that by the very act of repetition, I have made them my own language. I play with its form and content to create different layers of meaning."
- BHARTI KHER

Best known for her unusual use of bindis, Bharti Kher's work explores the spaces between belonging and classification. Though she grew up in the United Kingdom and moved to India much later, she... "I have been quite dogmatic about using [bindis]. But I feel that by the very act of repetition, I have made them my own language. I play with its form and content to create different layers of meaning."
- BHARTI KHER

Best known for her unusual use of bindis, Bharti Kher's work explores the spaces between belonging and classification. Though she grew up in the United Kingdom and moved to India much later, she resists being identified as a diaspora artist, preferring instead to "play with the ideas of misinterpretation of culture, or the idea of the authentic." (Artist quoted in a video interview, Kochi Muziris Biennale 2014, online)

Derived from the Sanskrit term for a point, the bindi is associated with the Hindu concept of the third eye and is traditionally worn by married women. It has now, however, become a massproduced fashion accessory, and it is this juxtaposition of the symbolic and the material that Kher explores, using repetition and contradictions to create visually striking compositions. "Employing the bindi as a central motif in her work, Kher uses this tiny object to transform the surfaces of both her sculptures and her paintings. Sensual abstract designs created by the bindi swirl together to form extraordinary textured surfaces... and the visually arresting compositions of the paintings." ("Bharti Kher," An Absence of Assignable Cause, New York: Jack Shainman Gallery, 2007, online)

Read More
Artist Profile
Other works of this artist in: this auction  |  entire site