TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK

DOHA THE Qatar Museums Authority (QMA) has unveiled three new sculptures by Indian artist Subodh Gupta at Katara, the Cultural Village.

Gandhi’s ‘Three Monkeys’, 2008, made from bronze, steel, and old utensils refer to India’s famous hero of peace, Mahatma Gandhi, portrayed as three heads in military headgear.

Using worn brass domestic utensils, the forms of a soldier’s helmet, a terrorist’s hood and a gas mask reinforce Gupta’s dialectics of war and peace, public and private, global and local, themes that run throughout his work. The gears worn by the three men in the sculptures represent the historical meaning of Gandhi’s ‘Three monkeys’, ‘See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil’.

Commenting on the installation of the sculptures, QMA Chief Executive Officer Mansoor al Khater said: “We are proud to have installed Subbodh Gupta’s ‘Three Monkeys’ in Katara. Subodh is a world renowned artist and this strong statement of peace couldn’t be installed in a better location. It illustrates QMA’s continued collaboration with Katara. We are grateful for their shared enthusiasm for the arts.” Born in 1964 in Khagaul in the northern province of Bihar, India, Gupta completed a painting degree in Patna city before moving to New Delhi. Throughout his work, he uses objects related to Indian life including domestic kitchenware and means of transport such as bicycles and scooters. His experience of the stark contrasts between rural and urban lives and cultural dislocations are themes that permeate his artistic practice.

Other artworks by Gupta explore India’s increasingly globalised vision of travel and the economic migrations of its workforce.

QMA is also hosting the ‘Louise Bourgeois: Conscious and Unconscious’ exhibition which will stay on view till June 1 at Katara in the QMA gallery, building No 10.