Offering

Offering

Site specific installation at The Basement Gallery, Bristol

Media: Seeds, grains, pulses, spices, natural pigment, pumpkins, soil and candles.

This installation considers the relationship between culture and geography. How the landscape in which we live influences our rituals and art.

Using locally grown food to create art for celebration and ritual is common across cultures. I’m interested in the impact of migration on culture and the potential richness of artistic fusion when different cultures meet and integrate.

Here I am combining the decorative nature of Indian art of rangoli with the tradition of creating lanterns out of pumpkins- using the seeds from the pumpkins to embelish them.

Both these traditional ritual art forms are used to decorate the entrances of homes- Rangoli and oil lamps during the celebration of Diwali and pumpkin lanterns at Samhain (Halloween).

Both festivals, and the ephemeral nature of the art mark the natural cycles of life and death.

Life Cycles

At the start of the week the pumpkins glowed with life and the fragrant spices enticed visitors down into the basement gallery. By the end of the week, at Halloween, the spices had lost there scent and the pumpkins were in a state of decay, supporting the growth of mould… new life…

“Kamini Gupta’s installation of rangoli and lanterns blended two different countries rituals beautifully. Sitting amidst patterns of subtle colour the predominant smell of cloves and soft candle light evoked a sense of peace. A moving piece of work enjoyed by all my senses”

Katie White Chair of South Bristol Arts