Behold the Shapeshifting River

Boshudhara Mukherjee’s undulating tapestries conjure up robust interior landscapes, states Jasmine Shah Varma.

- Jasmine Shah Varma

I step inside TARQ, Mumbai, but I don’t see the customary text I am used to seeing on the entrance wall. I see an artwork. Boshudhara Mukherjee’s woven tapestry is draped along the bend of the wall. It is a striking experience, and our first glimpse of The Familiars, a show driven by the tactile and visual presence of woven drapelike hanging objects.

There are veil-like tapestries suspended from the ceiling, but while they are all that is there, they are not all that is there. The shadows formed by the material on the wall are as much a part of the art experience. Some pieces are pinned to the wall at strategic spots, which give them the form they have. If the same piece was arranged in a different way, it would be a different piece of art.

The popular idea of how we see works on canvas is challenged in this exhibition. Mukherjee’s work shreds this notion. Viewing