Shilpa Gupta
MapTracing#1-IN, 2012 - ongoing
Copper pipe, wood
24 x 16 x 70 in
97 x 40.5 x 178 cm
97 x 40.5 x 178 cm
Variation of 6
Copyright The Artist
Gupta’s Map Tracings, ‘bent’ outline maps of metal tubing twisted to form three-dimensional linear sculptures, render the familiar outlines of nation-states into peculiar forms, using shadow and illusion across architectural...
Gupta’s Map Tracings, ‘bent’ outline maps of metal tubing twisted to form three-dimensional linear sculptures, render the familiar outlines of nation-states into peculiar forms, using shadow and illusion across architectural space to produce an oscillation between ‘correct’ and ‘incorrect’ detail, between recognition and perplexity. Started in 2012, with the India Map, the work is adapted to each exhibition site, according to the country in which it is shown. Depending on the viewers’ movements and their position in the space, the well-known shape becomes a strange line that literally twists our vision and reminds us that the nation is an artificial construct, and what it maps first and foremost is the way it imagines itself.