"Suchitra Mattai: Bodies & Souls" at Tampa Museum of Art

"to leave a trace" (2024)

I was introduced to the art of Suchitra Mattai back in 2022 when a segment of Crystal Bridges' State of the Art exhibit traveled to Sarasota Art Museum. The exhibit included a large-scale work by Mattai entitled "Exodus" that was made from colorful saris collected from friends and family. The work was not only beautiful; it held the collective stories of the women who had worn the garments. So when I learned that an exhibit of Mattai's work was on at the Tampa Museum of Art, I was all in. 

"to leave a trace" greets visitors when they enter the main gallery. Talk about a work making a visual impact. Of course there's a story embedded in the piece. In 1883, the first two ships carrying Indian indentured laborers arrived in the British colony of Guyana. It took approximately three months for the 400+ men, women and children to be transported to their new lives as sugar plantation workers. Over the course of 80 years, more than 1.4 million indentured workers made this journey. Some of Mattai's own ancestors can be counted among those laborers. 

The work includes figureheads on either end of the Roman goddess Diana and the Hindu deity Devi. They are protective figures, intended to ensure safe passage for the workers. The panels represent the sails of the ship. One side of each panel is covered with woven patterns made once again from saris; the other is covered with seagrass. The different materials represent the duality of the passengers' lives, perhaps a "before" and "after." It's a powerful introduction to the exhibit. 

"bodies and souls" (2021/2024) 

The title of the show comes from Mattai's "bodies and souls." The work is made from a variety of clothing Mattai collected from family, friends and the wider Indo-Caribbean community. The weight of the combined histories of the people who wore the clothing makes the work literally flow off the canvas. The stream of clothing also represents the migration of South Asians around the world. 

If you have an eagle eye, you might have noticed that this work is dated 2021/2024. This version of "bodies and souls" was created specifically for the TMA exhibit. Mattai's initial version is owned by the University of Michigan Museum of Art and can be seen by clicking here. I like the broken frame in that work and am curious why she opted not to use that visual device here. So if you happen to run into Suchitra...

"a path, a sea, a love" (2024) 

I am always drawn to artists taking an existing figurative depiction and making it their own. Some artists retain the general image but replace the main figure with a person from a different demographic. Kehinde Wiley is perhaps the best known artist who takes this approach in his work. (Click here to see his version of  "Napoleon Leading the Army over the Alps.) Other artists begin with existing images and alter the narrative in some way. Mattai has taken the latter approach in "a path, a sea, a love." 

Starting with a fabric depicting a colonial era scene with women in dresses with bustles and a man in breeches, Mattai used embroidery to embellish the image. It's a skill she learned from her grandmothers. If you click on the image, it will enlarge and you can see how Mattai modified or eliminated the existing figures. The woman in the brightly colored dress, though, was made from whole cloth (or would it be whole thread?) This addition creates diversity in the image. 

You probably won't be surprised to learn that the "frame" of the work is made from saris. Mattai noted in this interview that she uses vintage, everyday saris in her art. Often, they still carry scents of the women who wore them. She considers them representative of the labor of the women who wore them. 

"the power to give, the power to receive" (2022)

I'll leave you with a somewhat different work by Mattai -- "the power to give, the power to receive." While Mattai again used fabric to create this work, the figure is painted. 

To me the work has an ominous vibe, but that's not Mattai's intention. The animals on either side of the figure -- wolves? jackals? -- represent Mattai's grandmothers and protect the young woman from potential harm. What appear to me to be lightning strikes are instead forces of energy so powerful they light the figure up from the inside. She is receiving energy from the universe. I like it. 

"Suchitra Mattai: Bodies and Souls" continues at the Tampa Museum of Art through March 16. For more information, click here. And for the artist's website, click here.