Abul Hisham brings up the wall in his work

In his new solo in Delhi, the artist looks at the philosophical, political and conceptual meanings of the wall

- Shweta Upadhyay

In Abul Hisham's Man Near the Wall, a solitary figure stands against a forbidding wall, his back towards the viewer. On either side of this central panel are two wooden pillars, standing like sentinels. This work is part of Shrines, Hisham's solo show at Galerie Mirchandani + Steinruecke, Delhi, which depicts a different stage of his artistic practice.

The large paintings have an unusual architectural form, with the main panel mounted on arched wooden carvings invoking temple architecture, and flanked by totemic pillars on either side. There are carved figures on the pillars resembling a procession of people moving in a queue.

This shift to three-format sculptural forms is a result of a residency at Rijksakademie when the Thrissur-born Hisham moved to Amsterdam in 2021. After his experience of large wood-panelled Renaissance and Venetian paintings, with separate panels inscribed with religious iconography, Hisham introduced wood and began adding accompanying panels to the main painting. Further, he renounced pastel in favour of acrylic. The introduction of casting powder mixed with glue and paint gives a rough, cement-like texture to his works.

While Hisham is still preoccupied with themes of ritual, power, memory and desire, his works veer towards the autobiographical. The earlier narrative works with a host of robust characters drawn from fables, religious texts, miniature Mughal paintings, Ajanta murals and classical Indian sculptures have been streamlined into minimal imagery with wispy figures.