The Open Studio / Nitesh Kushwaha
Nitesh Kushwaha
Growth of desire
An ear, an eye, a tongue: skin that grows its own hair
Six squares of skin, the colour of turmeric and rust.
An ear listens from inside its clear box.
Thin dark lashes rest above an eye that cannot close.
Red lips wait in a field of stubble.
A tongue pushes out through a thicket of hair.
On the black cloth they hang like things kept, not shown.
The work
Growth of desire is made of six small panels of latex and hair. Each panel sits in a clear box and holds one part of a face. There is an ear, an eye, red lips and an open mouth with its tongue out. One panel shows only a soft curve. Dark hair grows from some of them as lashes or as a rough beard. Nitesh Kushwaha is a sculptor and performance artist in Greater Noida. He is a postgraduate of Jamia Millia Islamia. Hair is at the centre of his current work.
In the artist’s words
“My current body of work focuses on hair, both real and synthetic, as a powerful metaphor for identity. Through this medium, I look at gender, ecology and social constructs. I view my practice as a continuous dialogue between material, body and space.”
- Theme
- Hair, body and desire
- Material
- Latex and hair
- Size
- 121 × 46 × 1.27 cm
- Year
- 2023
- Edition
- 1
- Framed
- Yes
- About the artist
- Jamia millia islamia
- From
- Greater Noida
- Code
- RC-3700
