Aesthetic Bind

"A monumental photograph condenses Nikhil Chopra’s five-day ‘pilgrimage’ where the artist, dressed in a peasant smock, moves from his cloistered abode into the fields to paint the medieval Tuscan town of San Gimignano. Mimesis is at the heart of this performance: he gradually costumes himself in a manner resembling the figural imagery of Benozzo Gozzoli (from his fresco cycle, Life of Saint Augustine, located in San Gimignano and from his most acclaimed Procession of the Magi in nearby Florence). Indeed, he virtually ‘incarnates’ the great artist’s pensive self-portrait in red cap. The performance ends with Nikhil, wrapped in the large painted canvas, walking back into the town, whereupon the gods prompt a downpour. The painter’s robe is heavy with mud and he himself, weary and bedraggled."
Gallery Chemould
artforum
Art Asia Pacific