Phototrope is a solo exhibition of installation and wall works. This body of work views humans as beings of light in a universe held in place by darkness. ‘Phototrope’ refers to the quality of plants to grow towards light as they seek photonic nourishment. Drawing from observations of light in natural and built environments, the works question ideas of human agency and interdependence from a feminist viewpoint.
Lal lives between Bangalore, Guwahati and rural Assam. For the visual language of these works, Lal takes inspiration from navigations between these diverse spaces, both emotional as well as physical. In the pitch darkness of night-time journeys through wildlife corridors, the road is illuminated by headlights alone. The extent of the tarmac is revealed by the retroreflectors that dot the roadsides. On the village dirt tracks, a solitary set of headlights allows the moon, stars and fireflies to come out of hiding. Their night-time bioluminescence, in contrast to human finitude, indicates nature’s unceasing activity.
Lal’s approach to materials and their usage is minimal and considered. Her disciplined approach to the graphic outcome is underscored with elements of joy, fun, wonder and curiosity. For this body of work she plays with retro-reflective stickers, wood, words, lenses, shadows, and wavelengths of light. This play is intertwined with the order of nature; the use of light sensitive materials probes the idea of ‘Phototrope’.
In The Twinkle Of Your Eye is a map of the visible stars in the night sky rendered in retroreflective stickers. Through the process of crafting and studying the various components of the piece - the map, the stickers, the codification, the mistakes along the way - the role of human agency becomes increasingly apparent. Humans didn’t put the stars in the sky, or did we? The map is of human making. We have noted only that which we can see. A pair of binoculars aiding the human eye makes many more stars visible. We are part of the natural systems we try to denote, discover and understand. We are limited and propelled by the capabilities of our evolving knowledge systems, technologies and bodies.
Moonlight is a series of the moon-phases. These are digital prints on retroreflective material. Our closest neighbour, the largest, brightest object in the night sky is a beautiful, lifeless, reflector of sunlight - all the brighter for the five manmade retroreflectors placed on her surface. Intimately associated with Earth’s life-giving is the moon’s lack of life. Yet, the moon is part of Earth’s life- giving system, and moving outward, the sun, our source of energy, the gaseous giants and the heliosphere are all part of our life-giving system. The sun itself, while moving through space, is held in place by forces of the Milky Way galaxy. From atoms to the universe, this is a scaling pattern. Where does one life-giving system begin and another end? A chaos filled and fuelled intricate cosmic dance has somehow resulted in human sentience.
Phototrope is one of three text works in this series. Dendrochronology is the study of annual tree rings which indicate the lifespans of the trees and the conditions which they have survived to get there. The grain in wood documents the passage of time and the effect of light. The word ‘phototrope’ deconstructs to tropes of light. What does it mean to be a trope of light? ‘enlightenment’, ‘luminary’ ‘radiant’… As the world continues to struggle with aftermath of this pandemic and the wreckage of grief left in its wake, light comes to mean more than roshni or helios. It is where we hope our loved ones have gone, where we will one day join them, where those we leave behind will join us. Light becomes a coordinate-free place of hope and eternity.
Stardust is also a text work and references the following - Genesis 3:16 ‘Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.’ Lawrence Krausse, “The stars died so that you could be here today.” Joni Mitchell, “We are stardust, We are golden, We’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.”
Starlight… imagines the visibility of the last ascendant star as opposed to the first -
Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight; I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.
The Yale Bright Star catalogue, the work of astronomer Dorris Hoffleit indexes the stars which are visible to the naked human eye, in the night sky, from both hemispheres. It is impossible for a human being to look up to the sky and see all of the visible stars at once. The cumulative efforts of astronomers and those who have developed our systems of knowing and recording make it possible for us to assimilate this information. This piece notes the abiding egotistical curiosity of our species, babes in a universe that is estimated to be 13.8 billion years old.
Colour Study in Ultraviolet - in this work, ultraviolet light passed through various colour filters darkens photochromic lenses to different degrees. Materially visualizing unseeable wavelengths, the work reflects how we use all our faculties to try and see what is naturally invisible to us. How much more is there that our comprehensions do not yet grasp and do not know to probe?
Sundial traces its conception to the observation of a white wall which displays the circadian rhythm of the shadow of a plumeria tree. Absurd clocks, timekeeping and temporality frequently appear in and underscore Lal’s larger body of work.
In the contemplation of light, darkness is ever present; embedded in vivifying forces, coexist those that extinguish life. As we meander through these cycles in one lifetime the weight of our cumulative efforts as a civilization become increasingly enmeshed with our individual and daily acts of survival. With the reality of fatal viruses, bio and nuclear war looming large, ours is a world dealing with the ravages of grief and uncertainty. The knowledge our species has, of the natural order within which we live and act, is far from complete. There is much that we do not yet know, and this requires us to address the ecological crisis with caution, urgency and gregariousness.
From long drives through Assam, watching the shadows of trees and meditating on the loss of loved ones, this body of work deeply appreciates the world which allows us to think, create, discover, live and love.
- Tahireh Lal
Lal lives between Bangalore, Guwahati and rural Assam. For the visual language of these works, Lal takes inspiration from navigations between these diverse spaces, both emotional as well as physical. In the pitch darkness of night-time journeys through wildlife corridors, the road is illuminated by headlights alone. The extent of the tarmac is revealed by the retroreflectors that dot the roadsides. On the village dirt tracks, a solitary set of headlights allows the moon, stars and fireflies to come out of hiding. Their night-time bioluminescence, in contrast to human finitude, indicates nature’s unceasing activity.
Lal’s approach to materials and their usage is minimal and considered. Her disciplined approach to the graphic outcome is underscored with elements of joy, fun, wonder and curiosity. For this body of work she plays with retro-reflective stickers, wood, words, lenses, shadows, and wavelengths of light. This play is intertwined with the order of nature; the use of light sensitive materials probes the idea of ‘Phototrope’.
In The Twinkle Of Your Eye is a map of the visible stars in the night sky rendered in retroreflective stickers. Through the process of crafting and studying the various components of the piece - the map, the stickers, the codification, the mistakes along the way - the role of human agency becomes increasingly apparent. Humans didn’t put the stars in the sky, or did we? The map is of human making. We have noted only that which we can see. A pair of binoculars aiding the human eye makes many more stars visible. We are part of the natural systems we try to denote, discover and understand. We are limited and propelled by the capabilities of our evolving knowledge systems, technologies and bodies.
Moonlight is a series of the moon-phases. These are digital prints on retroreflective material. Our closest neighbour, the largest, brightest object in the night sky is a beautiful, lifeless, reflector of sunlight - all the brighter for the five manmade retroreflectors placed on her surface. Intimately associated with Earth’s life-giving is the moon’s lack of life. Yet, the moon is part of Earth’s life- giving system, and moving outward, the sun, our source of energy, the gaseous giants and the heliosphere are all part of our life-giving system. The sun itself, while moving through space, is held in place by forces of the Milky Way galaxy. From atoms to the universe, this is a scaling pattern. Where does one life-giving system begin and another end? A chaos filled and fuelled intricate cosmic dance has somehow resulted in human sentience.
Phototrope is one of three text works in this series. Dendrochronology is the study of annual tree rings which indicate the lifespans of the trees and the conditions which they have survived to get there. The grain in wood documents the passage of time and the effect of light. The word ‘phototrope’ deconstructs to tropes of light. What does it mean to be a trope of light? ‘enlightenment’, ‘luminary’ ‘radiant’… As the world continues to struggle with aftermath of this pandemic and the wreckage of grief left in its wake, light comes to mean more than roshni or helios. It is where we hope our loved ones have gone, where we will one day join them, where those we leave behind will join us. Light becomes a coordinate-free place of hope and eternity.
Stardust is also a text work and references the following - Genesis 3:16 ‘Dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return.’ Lawrence Krausse, “The stars died so that you could be here today.” Joni Mitchell, “We are stardust, We are golden, We’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden.”
Starlight… imagines the visibility of the last ascendant star as opposed to the first -
Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight; I wish I may, I wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.
The Yale Bright Star catalogue, the work of astronomer Dorris Hoffleit indexes the stars which are visible to the naked human eye, in the night sky, from both hemispheres. It is impossible for a human being to look up to the sky and see all of the visible stars at once. The cumulative efforts of astronomers and those who have developed our systems of knowing and recording make it possible for us to assimilate this information. This piece notes the abiding egotistical curiosity of our species, babes in a universe that is estimated to be 13.8 billion years old.
Colour Study in Ultraviolet - in this work, ultraviolet light passed through various colour filters darkens photochromic lenses to different degrees. Materially visualizing unseeable wavelengths, the work reflects how we use all our faculties to try and see what is naturally invisible to us. How much more is there that our comprehensions do not yet grasp and do not know to probe?
Sundial traces its conception to the observation of a white wall which displays the circadian rhythm of the shadow of a plumeria tree. Absurd clocks, timekeeping and temporality frequently appear in and underscore Lal’s larger body of work.
In the contemplation of light, darkness is ever present; embedded in vivifying forces, coexist those that extinguish life. As we meander through these cycles in one lifetime the weight of our cumulative efforts as a civilization become increasingly enmeshed with our individual and daily acts of survival. With the reality of fatal viruses, bio and nuclear war looming large, ours is a world dealing with the ravages of grief and uncertainty. The knowledge our species has, of the natural order within which we live and act, is far from complete. There is much that we do not yet know, and this requires us to address the ecological crisis with caution, urgency and gregariousness.
From long drives through Assam, watching the shadows of trees and meditating on the loss of loved ones, this body of work deeply appreciates the world which allows us to think, create, discover, live and love.
- Tahireh Lal
