Rina Banerjee is an Indian artist who has lived and worked in New York for many years. The India where she grows up is the one that has just emancipated from English colonization, where the feeling and the need to unite as a nation are widespread among the population. This multi-ethnicity of her country of origin shines through in her work and translates into the use of extremely heterogeneous materials, such as fabrics, shells, glass and feathers. By combining these elements - both natural and artificially man-made - Rina creates an unexpected dialogue with her works, a universe of fragile and powerful creatures at the same time.
A mystical aura envelops his sculptures, in which mythological references, linked to the themes of magic and superstition, intertwine with antiquity and historical references. For Rina Banerjee even objects are alive, and have a body even if it is not always graspable. By composing different materials together, as a composer combines musical notes, the artist creates new harmonies that incorporate diversity, be it cultural, racial or gender. The artist develops titles for her works which are real poems, almost alchemical, which create an instrumental crescendo to the visual melody.
If I am matter, the mountain is matter, the air is matter even if it is not visible. All these elements with their differences, visible or not are tangible and essential to create art.
Rina Banerjee
Invited by Christina Macel to the Shamans’ Pavilion at the 57th Venice Art Biennale, in 2017, the artist presents new works that reflect on the primordial darkness of the Universe and on the birth of the human being.