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Reena Saini Kallat (B. 1973) Synonym 182 x 120.2 x 11.2 cm image 1
Reena Saini Kallat (B. 1973) Synonym 182 x 120.2 x 11.2 cm image 2
Reena Saini Kallat (B. 1973) Synonym 182 x 120.2 x 11.2 cm image 3
Lot 44*

Reena Saini Kallat
(B. 1973)
Synonym 182 x 120.2 x 11.2 cm

10 December 2024, 15:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street

£18,000 - £25,000

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Reena Saini Kallat (B. 1973)

Synonym
mixed media sculpture (acrylic paint, rubberstamps)/plexiglass
182 x 120.2 x 11.2 cm

Footnotes

Provenance
Property from a private collection, Italy.
Acquired from Primo Marelle Gallery, Milan in 2012.

Reena Saini Kallat's Synonym is a poignant and thought-provoking exploration of identity, memory, and displacement, themes that are central to her artistic practice. In this work, Kallat uses rubber stamps bearing names of people, places, or communities as both a medium and metaphor. The stamps, imprinted with multiple identities, symbolize the bureaucratic systems that classify, categorize, and often marginalize individuals. These individuals are those that have been registered as having gone missing in India, through natural calamities or during riots or mishaps; names of those abducted or those who absconded. By arranging these stamps into complex, visually rich patterns, Kallat highlights the tension between personal identity and the impersonal, institutional forces that seek to define it.

Synonym can be seen as a commentary on migration, border politics, and the erasure or transformation of cultural and personal identities over time. The repetitive use of names rendered in over 14 Indian languages suggests a collective experience, while the intricate design reflects the multifaceted nature of identity. Kallat's choice of rubber stamps—tools of administration and control—underscores the fragility of identity in the face of political or social systems. Through this work, she invites viewers to consider how identity is constructed, recorded, and ultimately, remembered.

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