Nalini Malani - Of Woman Born

Nalini Malani’s constellations of hard-hitting images cut across cultures, mythologies, and histories. In this newly commissioned artwork by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, Malani extends her “Animation Chambers” series, a form she developed since 2017, where multiple iPad animations come together to create an all-encompassing experience. These animations archive the microclimates that occupy the artist’s mind and are externalised into the world as visual notes for reflection. They are thought chambers that create a sensorial explosion with a dynamic relay/play of projections, sound, scale, and surface.

Nalini Malani - Of Woman Born offers a contemporary reflection on the ancient mythical figure of Orestes, who killed his mother in retaliation for the death of his father. Despite being pursued by the Furies, the Greek goddesses of justice and revenge, Orestes was later pardoned by the Goddess Athena with no retribution for his actions. For Malani, the contemporary world is unfolding much like the story of Orestes, where wars are led in the name of self-defense with no accountability for individuals who perpetrate the violence. She asks us to have a relook at the geopolitical demarcations of the world and locate the agency of women who bear the brunt of the global conflict.