Thukral & Tagra Arboretum

Thukral and Tagra’s multifaceted practice reflects the scope of their engagement in the cultural and political landscape of India, as well as the wider world. The artists are driven by the methodologies of painting, gaming, archiving and publishing. While their early work dealt with the intricacies of global consumer culture, their recent interest in ecology and climate change led them to explorations of their own family histories of migration and farming in the Indian state of Punjab.

The artists’ new body of work originates in their journey to the Adinatha Perumal Temple in Tamil Nadu, South India, where they encountered a 5,000-year-old tamarind tree that stands as a site of devotion. The Vaishnavite saint Nammalvar is said to have climbed inside the tree’s trunk as a child, remaining there for 16 years in silent meditation. Still revered as sacred by the temple today, the tree is said to never fold its leaves at night, thus remaining watchful even in sleep.

Inspired by the temple’s brass idols, Thukral and Tagra have created a new collection of five functional brass sculptures – each painted with hyper-realistic imagery relating to various sacred trees. The Repose 04 bench relates to the tamarind tree and the Repose 05 chair to the silk cotton tree. Tamarind and silk cotton trees are also found on the console Repose 02 and the wall shelf Repose 7, respectively, while the Repose 11 bookshelf is inspired by the neem tree — known for its medicinal, agricultural and ecological uses. Echoing the mythology of the South Indian temple, each sculpture’s surface acts as the bark of a tree, holding memory, sensation and belief.

Also featured in the exhibition are two oil paintings on canvas: Arboretum - Tamarindus Indica, which takes the form of a circle, and Arboretum - 31, Ficus Religiosa, whose asymmetric canvas reflects the artists’ multifaceted practice. The paintings recall the artists’ memories of sitting beneath sacred trees, rendered through intensely detailed brushwork that evokes a sense of meditation. The images also appear fragmented and pixelated, echoing the artists’ interest in the merging of technological and natural worlds.

Forming a new chapter in a continually developing body of work, these pieces echo the artists’ belief that trees can reveal profound issues related to politics, territory, mythology and memory. The sculptures and paintings also reflect the research-driven artistic practice of Thukral and Tagra, who merge painterly vision, sculptural precision, and rigorous fact-finding in a way that challenges the traditional protocols of high art.