வருக வருக

welcome

This is a guide through the exhibition. There are markers ( different meanings of kolam) mapping the text and space. The text is written by Raghavi, employing a mixture of formats. Formal, blab, rant, poetic, exhibitory text,  alternating between first person and third person narrative. It jumps between these formats to reflect the complexity of migrant identity, subverting colonial linguistic norms.

kōlam   n. [T. kōlamu, K. kōla,M. kōlam.]

• threshold ritualistic design practised by south-asian women, a form of welcome; கோலம், பொதுவாக பெண்களால் வரையப்படும் பாரம்பரிய கலை, வரவேற்பு வடிவம்

• form, appearance, identity; உருவம், மானுடக்கோலம், அடையாளம்

• beauty; அழகு

• colour; நிறம்

• anthropological tool used to observe, decipher and understand complex cosmic patterns; பிரபஞ்சத்தைப் புரிந்துகொள்வதற்கான வடிவமைப்பு கருவியாக ஆதிகால மனிதர்களால் பயன்படுத்தப்பட்டது

அடையாளம்

form

This liminal space explores the plurality of Tamil identity, the contradictions, the poetics and the politics.  It negotiates what we bring forward through the threshold, what we leave behind. It seeks right to self-determine. How do I define my postcolonial Tamil identity? She takes multiple forms. They take multiple shapes.

In the reading room, works of children and community members of Nottingham Tamil community are presented against the blue wall. These works are produced with support by Nottingham Tamil Kuzhumam. The artworks are produced as an exploration of their diasporic Tamil identity. From traditional Indian dance form to tennis, from social media to saree, these works expand what it is to be a Tamil-British person through collage-making. Why are these artworks here?

Is it here because I am. Is it here because the Thanjavur bronzes are here, Tipu’s tiger is here? Is it here because the Kohinoor is here? Is it here to claim? To stay, to be? These footwear, community artworks work as an invitation to marginalised communities and Tamil diasporic community into contemporary spaces. As an art-form, kolam is a practice of making-home. Each artwork here is a kolam, making home, adding a new definition of home.

Across the blue wall, on the shelves, you can find a kolam notebook handed down by Raghavi’s grandmother to them. Kolam art-form is an intergenerational practice, handing down embodied practices and care. Could an exhibition do the same?

அழகு

beauty

1

As you follow the footwear and kolam into the Gallery 1, to your right, works by artists from Palani Studio are presented as an abstract kolam, making patterns and connections.

Is the space between one artwork and another enough for colonial aesthetic to stand? Can you hold my beauty next to yours? What if clumsiness were a stance—a soft rebellion? How much works could a gallery hold? During initial conversations, Palani wanted to exhibit as many photographs as possible. He wanted to portray as many stories as possible. It was not only a comment on politics of space and opportunity but it was also a promise of collectivity and solidarity. Layered display defies the pristine order of the white-cube, offering instead a gentle disruption—a decolonial gesture where beauty lies in closeness, where meaning grows in the mess.

The photographs shows slices of oppression and exploitation. Scenes from Chennai Ennore oil spill, Kannagi Nagar displacement, Anakaputhur eviction, Chennai flood, and many more important political instances along with equally important domestic scenes. This section also holds works by photographers Noor Nisha and Ravikumar from Palani Studios. These photographers are documented as a part of Palani’s work with People’s Archive of Rural India ( PARI)

The narrative jumps from one to another, not fully making sense, reflecting the representation of Tamil lives in the global gaze. It critiques the momentary visibility of these issues and misrepresentation.

2

What does it mean to be brown, Tamil? A Dalit? Is it one thing? Are there different shades? பழுப்பு, Brown, Sepia

These intimate portraits by photographers Palani Kumar and Hairunisha, focuses the lived experiences of their mothers—Tamil women whose bodies narrate stories of resilience, labor, and identity. Palani’s images capture his mother in her roles as a fisherwoman and homemaker, embodying the strength and tenderness of working-class Tamil women. Kumar's images capture his mother as she balances her roles as a fisherwoman and homemaker, embodying the strength and tenderness of working-class Tamil women. Hairunisha’s portraits explore her mother’s skin and body as records of time, motherhood. Arranged in patterns, these photographs are a reflection on how labor, identity, and heritage shape and mark the body, creating layered meanings within the shared cultural and familial narratives.

Are there different shades? The brown of the soil, where the kolam sits. The brown of my body. Is there a difference between these two. Both violated, falling and raising together.

Raising together.

3

Are there different shades? Red, சிவப்பு

Invited to perform an intervention in the exhibition, artist Rocky Mol placed an apple in the context of these works. Observing the wrinkled, skin-like texture of aged apples, Rocky weaves the fruit into her biographical storytelling, using it as a metaphor for the complexities of identity, the passage of time, and the quiet strength found in vulnerability. Throughout history, apples have captivated artists and scholars alike, symbolizing themes of temptation, knowledge, and renewal. From the forbidden fruit in the story of Adam and Eve, to Greek mythology’s apples of immortality, this simple fruit carries profound cultural weight. Its duality—offering both sustenance and danger—has made it a timeless, universal metaphor for human struggle, desire, and transformation. In Rocky’s works, the apple continues to be a symbol of social exclusion due to Caste, hope for love and equality through painting and photography. The apple represents both nourishment and division—a fruit that is accessible to some yet withheld from others.

4

This section presents journalistic works by Palani and Hairunisha that capture acts of solidarity through scenes of domestic and civic labor, portraying the strength of individuals and communities as a mesh.

Is there a boundary between public and domestic? Kolam seeks to act as a portal connecting these spaces, questioning the relationship. Is the action of wearing a saree or not wearing one political? Politics of pleats. சேலை

Saree being used as a cradle

Domestic labour of Women in Thuravikadu

Rita akka, a sanitation worker who is also carer of stray dogs

Ezhil anna, an artist, a clown bringing art and joy to rural Tamil Nadu

Chennai Pride march

Moment of rest, support during Nurse’s strike against the government

The photographs are documentations of anguish, rejoice, resilience and resistance.

She does domestic chores

She dances within closed doors

They hold hands in public

She holds her hand up for republic

The exhibition is an intentionally inept documentation. It claims success in accepting the failure to capture the entirety of what it means to be a Tamil.

5

Kolam art is an eco-feminist practice, using rice flour to create intricate patterns that feed insects and small animals, symbolizing harmony with nature. Erased and redone everyday, its ephemerality reflects sustainability, cyclical nature of life, naturally dissolving over time.

While works from Palani Studio portray facets of Tamil identity today and captures moments of solidarity and support, Osheen’s loop animation visualises a future.

This installation celebrates life, resilience, communal bonding, and the regenerative joy of caste-oppressed communities in Tamil Nadu. The agricultural labor and histories of the Dalit people, often overlooked and unrecognised, form a crucial backdrop to this exploration. The circle of life, symbolised through the harvest cycle, underscores the interconnectedness between humans and nature and the enduring strength.

The accompanying sound draws inspiration from the funeral processions in Tamil Nadu, where music and dance play a crucial role in honoring the deceased and celebrating the circle of life. Parai drum, crafted from animal skin, symbolizing the human connection with nature and the politics surrounding beef and meat consumption in India. The unique, visceral sound of the Parai drum serves as a powerful allusion to the joys and cultural vibrancy of oppressed communities. The music was recorded by the musician, activist and teacher, Manimaran and his students at Buddhar Kalai Kuzhu, Chennai.

By integrating the sounds of the Parai drum and blue line visuals of the animation, the installation celebrates the joy within the Dalit community, their deep connection to nature, and their ways of honouring the deceased and ancestors. The installation aims to provide a space for reflection on the resilience and cultural richness of these communities, fostering a deeper understanding and appreciation of their traditions and contributions.

. . . . .

Similar to Kolam’s primordial use as a tool to understand cosmos, these bodies of work, together operate as temporal kolams, shifting between timelines, trying to observe, decipher and understand Tamil women, Queer and Dalit identity. To collectively reflect a better future.

Leave your kolams on the notebooks present on the floor...