Elizabeth Prendiville of SaffronArt shares an announcement about L.N. Tallur’s “ UKAI (Cormorant Fish Hunting)” in Delhi.

New York: L.N. Tallur has established a strong career through his sculptural pieces that convey a greater meaning and commentary on our contemporary world. His training and work experience worldwide have provided a vast approach to reoccurring societal plagues and inspirations that are present in all of his work. While he touches on historically rooted techniques each of his pieces employs a thematic response to time, want, greed, nostalgia and other elements of human life. His new show “UKAI (Cormorant Fish Hunting)” starting on January 11th at Nature Morte, will display all new works and embodies that metaphorical message that he is known for. Currently, the artist resides in both India and South Korea and utilizes inspirations from a variety of cultural standpoints to depict his metaphorically driven work.

Even the title “UKAI (Cormorant Fish Hunting)” is filled with a greater meaning from the artist’s perspective. In this name he is referencing the medieval Chinese and Japanese technique of fishing with help of trained cormorant birds. Each cormorant bird (or “Ukai” in Japanese) is controlled by a knot at the base of the throat that prevents them from devouring the fish and instead allowing the fisherman to obtain the spoils of their hunt. This collision between human desire and nature is Tallur’s well-crafted illustration for the presence of greed in our society, specifically within global labor out-sourcing.

Tallur’s sculptures expand on these themes through depictions of manipulated figural shapes as well as a wide variety of materials such as wood, metals and mixed media. The artist takes an earnest and aggressive approach to these themes while still remaining playful and explorative in his work.

 

Prior to his solo exhibition at Nature Morte, L.N. Tallur debuted his solo exhibition “Quintessential” at the Dr. Bhau Daji Lad Museum in Mumbai in 2011. In addition to “UKAI” his solo exhibition “Balancing Act” is currently being show at the SCAD Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia.  While in South Delhi this winter, do visit the curatorial space Nature Morte to take in this eclectic exhibition. “UKAI (Cormorant Fish Hunting)” will be on display through February 8^th 2014. To learn more about this exhibition and Nature Morte visit their website here.