There Is Here: Photographs by Avi Gupta.

Back to UEA once more to the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. This time for There is Here, photographs by Avi Gupta. This is new work by the American artist that has been specially commissioned for the Sainsbury Centre and the exhibition of its new contemporary art programme Next Modern.

The images depict domestic interiors photographed in Kolkata, India, where the artists family is originally from as well as the Washington DC area where Gupta was born. The shots show found situations that have not been touched by the artist but have been carefully framed to highlight subtle details. The images are devoid of people but they are still filled with a human presence such as burnt out matches that have been left next to the stove, the lid of a 7up bottle left unscrewed of the remnants of a prayer ceremony with a burning candle. This all leaves the viewer with a sense that something has happened or is about to happen.

Gupta's work is influenced by growing up as part of the Bengali community in the Washington area. His photographs are 'both personal and linked to universal themes, with explorations of globalisation, value systems and cultural hybridity shown through the detail of domestic life'.

All of these images are untitled. Does this add an extra something? Does giving the image a name plant something in the viewers mind so they already have an idea of the picture they are viewing? Does Gupta want the viewer to see each image for what it is and make up their own mind on it?

"I find it critical to produce pictures that provoke contemplation. The resulting images are minimal and quiet, devoid of people, hinting at their presence through the residue of their absence. The mood is melancholy and nostalgic, yet aesthetically welcoming the viewer to explore the ideas of belonging and identity within the parmeters of the home" - Avi Gupta.

There was also a sub series called Offerings which showed the hospitality Gupta was offered by the householders he visited. The title references the  the daily offerings of food and drink to the Gods in Hindu prayer ceremonies. Some of the photographs in particular show objects that had been specially covered up or particular objects and pictures being favoured above others. Also being shown was a video piece called 'Sitting Room' which was filmed in the Gutpa's family home in Kolkara. It explored the creation of a special place offered to visitors and I feel that that ties in well with the sub series 'Offerings'. You can see subtle movements in the room which transform the stillness in the area into a space of meditation.

I found this whole exhibition un nerving in a way, not because of the lack of people present, but because you can still feel their presence. In some of the images it feels as though the occupants of the house have left in a hurry. Why? Has something bad occured? I do like that each image encourages you to consider the meaning behind it.

Information taken from www.scva.org.uk and exhibition handouts.