Presenting Pastness
Zoya Chaudary
Solo Exhibition
15 - 23 April 2023, 11am - 7pm
Our memories of the past are not only from lived experiences but also dominated by media information. The works crafted from newspapers replicate the filtered screens of the Jali, a recurring form in my practice, through which the perception of the real and recorded may be filtered or fragmented.
The objects presented are material outcome of my reflections of the impact of COVID, as an emotive
negotiation in relation to newsprint articles of case numbers and death tolls. ‘Presenting Pastness’
refers to the fragility of the material outcome of the work as testament to the fragility of the juxtaposition of time, space, and fleeting emotions.
Media in its various formats is perhaps the most ubiquitous and powerful force that is shaping perception and memory in current times. My current practice is focused on exploring ideas of subjectivity, perception & memory of the information gleaned from the media. Especially how subjective filters of perception are created from the cultural, physical, and temporal vantage point affected by notions of erasure.
My current exploration of ‘media as material’ physically demarcates the distance between lived experience and news media in a series of intricate lattice-work pieces based on traditional Jali. I have been creating the current objects since the onset of the covid pandemic 2020 until now. Images of some of the completed works are shown below. Along with these I’d also like to propose a site- specific installation. While the objects presented are personal negotiations of memory through media-material the proposed installation is a collective negotiation. You’ll find below a detailed description of the installation along with a sketch.
About the Artist(s)
Zoya Chaudhary is an artist born in India and a resident of Singapore since 2011. She works across mediums including installation, video, cut-out collage & painting. Zoya’s art practice is focused on exploring ideas of subjectivity, perception & memory. Her works begin with the personal, and then build to consider ways the personal interacts with larger public narrative. Zoya has worked as a visual artist, designer and illustrator in India and Singapore since 2005. She has also designed and performed for several theatre productions in India. She has been exhibiting her art in exhibitions and art fairs in Singapore and abroad. Her works are part of several private collections worldwide.