Ode to Multiple Belongings

Through the use of costumes, movement, gestures and embellishments, Hetain Patel performs a variety of identities, says Chintan Girish Modi.

- Chintan Girish Modi

Hetain Patel. Swastika. Digital photograph on archival paper. 29 ¾ ” x 36 ½”. Edition of 4. 2005.

Hetain Patel is a British artist of Indian descent who uses his body as a performative site to explore issues related to identity, family history, and ceremonial practices. His experience of being the son of immigrant parents, of belonging to a racial minority, is woven into most of his work through fragments of biography stylized and transformed into a spectacle. His works comprise photographic selfportraits alongside experiments in video, animation, and live performance.

An exhibition at Chatterjee & Lal, Mumbai, from the 4th of December, 2021, to the 5th of February, 2022, brings together some highlights from the 18 years of his practice in addition to presenting new works. It is a two-part exhibition. The first part titled Trinity: A Prologue will be followed by Trinity.

Patel’s early work, especially his