"remembering a brave new world" - Chila Kumair Singh Burman
Art: Remembering ‘A Brave New World’
Artist: Chila Kumair Singh Burman
Location: Tate Britain in London
Formal Descriptive Analysis:
In 2020 at the start of the holiday Diwali, Chila Kumair Singh Burman’s project “remembering a brave new world” was revealed to the citizens of London. This piece, adorned on the face of the Tate Britain gallery while its doors were closed because of Covid, uses neon light to add light to a world locked up during quarantine.
The use of neon lights allow the shape and form of the piece to be visible at any time of the day, and perhaps even more legible at night. The bright and saturated lights contrast beautifully against the dull exterior of Tate Britain, allowing the eye to focus on what Burman created instead of how she is interfering with the aesthetic/appearance of the building. She uses a variety of colors as well: blue, purple, orange, red, yellow, green, and teal. The different colors let the eye dance around the whole of the work, jumping to another subject as it gets tiring looking at another. They are also simply fun! This saturation of color is typically associated with events like a carnival or club which immediately triggers that association with happiness, joy, and excitement. The center of the building utilizes warmer colors whereas the perimeters are lined with cooler tones. The cooler tones fuse with the sky, not blending in but making it feel like a more natural part of the world around oneself. The warmer colors then stand out even more which is beneficial as the majority of symbols are located in that area. It almost feels as if it is the heart of the piece since it is so reminiscent of a warm, glowing feel.
Burman masterfully uses formal balance to ground the chaotic sense of her work, allowing the eye to grasp the composition before asking it to look closer at the details. The columns share a swirling shape that allows them to fade into the background without having them be irrelevant to the presentation as a whole. The red and blue that the inner and outer columns share respectively also help to unify them in their pairings; The eye recognizes the pattern and therefore associates them one with the other. With few exceptions, the whole exhibit is arranged like this, with a counterpart on the other side. Although Burman does not repeat patterns, she does mirror the placements of her symbols. Within the back panel of the gallery, the red columns break it up into three sections with each decorated with three symbols descending vertically. Here she makes invisible rows to again create a pattern that allows one to jump from one subject to the next, as if reading. The top of the stairs and roof share counterparts as well as the wiry lights strewn at the bottom right and left of this photo. The only standout is the neon truck on the stairs, an outlier perhaps to draw more attention to it.
While it may seem chaotic at first glance, the work is quite legible thanks to the expert use of line and shape. A viewer can align what they see into columns, grouping everything they see together quickly before choosing to observe the details. The brain unconsciously understands and appreciates the ability to simplify the composition. It also becomes more obvious of Burman’s intentions as one notices the hanging lights by the “remembering a brave new world” text are noticeably thinner and dull compared to the rest of the lights in the display. Were they to share the same line quality, it would interrupt the flow of the piece and therefore make it more of a headache to observe. The roof already possessed its triangular shape, but the artist decided to highlight its shape with text and figures to act as corners. Triangles promote stability and this connotation is realized as not only is it performing its standard duty of a roof but also helping to lead the eye to the peak of the building, concluding the piece.
The featured symbols of the art, from top to bottom, consists of:
- Trident
- Hindu goddess Kali*
- The moon in its crescent shape
- Bow & Arrow
- The sun
- Lips
- Snowflakes
- Diya (lamp)
- Icon meaning “Om”
- Burman performing a martial arts kick
- Hindu God Hanuman and partner
- Rani of Jhansi
- An open blue eye with lashes around the whole edge (Third Eye)
- Male peacock
- A tongue licking soft serve ice cream
- Hindu Goddess, Lakshmi
- A Punjabi woman wearing a starry headdress
- 6 hair clips*
- A (feminist) woman pumping her fist in the air
- Hindu God, Ganesha
- A tiger
- An ice cream truck
6 Hair Clips: The clips above the eye as well as the illuminated arch create this halo effect above the door. Even if the figure of the goddess Kali sits at the top, there still radiates a holiness that is more accessible to the world.
Additionally, the columns are decorated with Burman’s work, “Punjabi Rockers”, which features bright colors, women, and artifacts of Indian culture. The doors of the building are littered with images of Bollywood stars, male and female. On the stairs, Burman printed and pasted digital recreation of fireworks. Just inside the building, there is a tuk-tuk that Burman decorated in 2017 with many radical colors and patterns on a black base, and an inside that is filled with glasswork, collages, and other art forms. Some of the string lights from outside enter into the building, linking the outside and inside together.
Remembering a Brave New World at the Tate Britain (Photography by Inspiring City (dot) com)
“My idea is to disrupt the Neoclassical façade and mash it all up. It’s my take on the world as it is, defacing and refacing and putting chaos into order”
Chila Kumari Singh Burman to Art Magazine
The launch of “remembering a brave new world” met with crowds of people hovering around the steps of the Tate Britain to take photos and admire the stunning vista Burman laid out for London. The project has been lauded as a love letter to hope “during dark lockdown days”. While the Tate Britain has seen some neon ensembles on its facade (see: 2017, 2018, and 2019), this intricately detailed and exciting exhibit crafted by Burman had the unfortunate event of the Covid-19 lockdown to share with its opening (Tate 2020). Not in spite of but as a direct result of the rank, isolated mess that was lockdown, Burman was able to elevate the value of this commission. While a wonderful piece on its own, the neon ensemble acted as a beacon when the social and cultural life of London had to shut down due to the pandemic’s ever growing urgency.
No matter where you lived during lockdown, it drastically changed the routine of everyday life. If you were lucky, you’d be stuck with a friend, family members, or even a pet. Others had to suffer inside by themselves. Regardless, the pandemic created an extremely isolating experience that stunted the growth of many people. As a naturally social species, being separated from one’s community is dangerously harmful to the psyche. The lack of choice, the decline of sanity, the loss of hope. These were dark days and Burman provided an outlet for people’s loneliness. The outdoor exhibition allowed people to leave the house without worrying about being confined in a closed space, which was not even an option as the Tate Britain was closed. Not only did it prevent one going stir crazy, but it also provided something to look forward to when there was not much going on.
The neon displays from previous years played with fun colors and symbols, too. Alan Kane’s commission, on the surface, sported a very similar vibe and composition with his “Home for Christmas” piece which featured classic Christmastime imagery for the holiday season (“Home for Christmas”). However, Burman manages to stand out from the previous years due to the personability she added to it. She has relics of her past, like her father’s ice cream truck, and symbols that represent her own politics and cultural heritage. Burman presenting her own unique worldview for everyone to see is the opposite of exclusionary especially during an age of isolation. If an onlooker cannot personally relate to everything Burman is, they at least get the opportunity to get to know someone, to connect. With it being a decent bit into lockdown, people had gotten used to very shallow interactions over Zoom or the like. “remembering a brave new world” allows people to see the soul of a stranger when they otherwise could not.
Another just as important aspect of the piece is that Burman is able to represent people who are often overlooked, especially in the context of the European art scene. She gives a platform for any and all Punjabi women like herself to be displayed front and center, literally overtaking a classical white-centered establishment. The Hindu goddess Kali sits strong and proud right in front of Britannia, not saying one is better than the other but instead insisting that they can co-exist, as Burman exists as both a Punjabi woman and a Liverpool resident (Cite the interview). By highlighting the oft forgotten members of the community, she draws everyone together in order to educate and unite an isolated society.
‘Without us there is no Britain’ & Neon tiger at the Tate Britain (Photography by Inspiring City (dot) com)
References
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Burman, Kumari S., and Sarah Cascone. 2021. “Here's Why I Believe Lockdown Has Pushed the Art World Out of Its Comfort Zone—and on a Path to a More Equitable Future.” Artnet News. https://news.artnet.com/opinion/chila-kumari-singh-burman-optimism-1941585.
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