Utarand IV
2022 - Sculpture (Sculpture)
129.54 x 55.88 cm
Prabhakar Kamble
To produce the series of sculptures collectively titled Utarand , Prabhakar Kamble relocated his studio to Kolhapur, Maharashtra, near the village where he was born into a family of daily wage earners. Kamble cast the feet of agricultural workers in metal to prop up the eponymous terracotta pots traditionally used to store food and grains in every home. A commentary on the caste system’s four-tiered hierarchy, the pots become smaller as they go up the stand, mimicking the structure of society where most of the population is comprised of impoverished communities, which form the base of the caste system while a small minority makes up the wealthy upper castes. The pots also resemble the terracotta urns that traditionally contain ashes, illustrating the violence of caste conflict lynchings. Atop each structure is a symbol of dehumanization; Utarand IV features a miniature cow (whose life is considered more worthy than a human’s in many Indian religions) painted in indigo, the color that the Ambedkarite community associates with emancipation and abolishment of castes.
Prabhakar Kamble is an artist, curator, and cultural activist. His work addresses social justice, the annihilation of caste, and the denial of these issues by institutions due to selective humanism and ruling class aesthetics negating subaltern expression. His practice is informed by Ambedkarite principles that privilege equality over caste identity. He is known for his politically-engaged performances, which are often complex commentaries on society, marked by a symbolic use of material, either found or made and at times heightened by the representation of a color.
Colors:
Related works sharing similar palette
© » KADIST
Natan Lawson
Untitled (Bubbles) by Natan Lawson is produced by a marker with a ball-bearing tip, which is drained and refilled with a new color of acrylic paint for each layer...
© » KADIST
Jiri Kovanda
1992Untitled (1992) responds to the same principles of an economy of means as the artist’s actions and installations: three empty cardboard boxes which have contained photographic film are piled one on top of the other...
© » KADIST
Kitty Kraus
Composed of two rectilinear pieces of glass, this work is part of a series of sculptures started in 2006...
© » KADIST
Martha Araújo
1982In Habito/Habitante , the suspended material renders the wall a prison and the participant a prisoner...
© » KADIST
Josh Faught
2014Some of Faught’s works have been inspired by the ad hoc monuments created at gravesites in San Francisco’s Neptune Society Columbarium, where many victims of the AIDS epidemic were laid to rest...
© » HYPERALLERGIC
Sleeping Polar Bear Snuggling on Iceberg Wins Photo Award Skip to content "Ice Bed" (2023), digital photo (© Nima Sarikhani, Wildlife Photographer of the Year; all images courtesy the artist and Natural History Museum, London) In an era of immeasurable chaos caused by unsustainable human activity across the planet, it’s crucial to look within the natural world for order, hope, and to feel grounded as things spiral around us...
© » THEARTNEWSPER
Phillips's selling show of contemporary Indigenous art reflects surge in curatorial interest Art market Museums & heritage Exhibitions Books Podcasts Columns Technology Adventures with Van Gogh Search Search Art market news Phillips's selling show of contemporary Indigenous art reflects surge in curatorial interest Collectors’ enthusiastic response to 'New Terrains' exhibition is latest signal that the market is finally catching up Carlie Porterfield 9 February 2024 Share Death of Adonis (2009) was one of two paintings by Cree artist Kent Monkman in the Phillips show © Kent Monkman Just after ringing in the New Year, Phillips opened the doors of its Park Avenue headquarters for New Terrains , a selling exhibition of work by around 65 contemporary Indigenous artists from the US and Canada across seven decades...
© » KADIST
Tacita Dean
2001The photographic quality of the film Baobab is not only the result of a highly sophisticated use of black and white and light, but also of the way in which each tree is characterized as an individual, creating in the end a series of portraits...
© » ARTS EQUATOR
Weekly Southeast Asia Radar: Vietnam's post-war writers; Burmese voices in book | ArtsEquator Thinking and Talking about Arts and Culture in Southeast Asia ArtsEquator Radar BACC October 8, 2020 ArtsEquator’s Southeast Asia Radar features articles and posts about arts and culture in Southeast Asia, drawn from local and regional websites and publications – aggregated content from outside sources, so we are exposed to a multitude of voices in the region...
© » SOMETHING CURATED
Interview: Michelle Williams Gamaker Challenges Cinema’s History of Discrimination - Something Curated Share this: Facebook Twitter Tumblr Features Interviews Profiles Guides Jobs Interviews - 13 Dec 2023 - Share British-Sri Lankan artist Michelle Williams Gamaker delves into themes of race, identity, her passion for cinema, and the power of storytelling through her dynamic practice...
© » KADIST
Andrew Norman Wilson
2020On the first day of the Covid-19 lockdown in New York, Andrew Norman Wilson was evicted from his sublet and decided to board a $30 flight to Los Angeles that evening...
