SHIFTING IDENTITIES

Rakhee Kane’s installation is based on the universal and timeless beauty of screens or jaalis, a traditional symbol of privacy and a link that connects the inside to the outside. Seen in several mediums such as stone, wood, clay and other crafts, jaalis are embedded in the architectural and cultural language of India. Rakhee’s inspiration is drawn from its architectural use in palatial complexes, small dwellings, religious monuments and humble shrines. The play of light, shadows and patterns gives the jaali a universal appeal. She is interested in the ability of a fenestrated form to transcend cultures.

In her methodology, the artist has approached this project through a series of three-dimensional studies in fired and unfired clay and with a variety of glazing and firing styles. For Rakhee, the jaali is a celebration of the versatility of form, synonymous with interconnectedness and transparency. Her jaalis combine a sense of enclosure and opening, allowing the light of the sun to cast multiple and dancing shadows on the rammed earth wall.

RAKHEE KANE studied painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Vadodara and has a post-graduate diploma from National Institute of Design in Ceramics. Her early training was with Jyotsana Bhatt before she moved to Auroville, near Puducherry where she apprenticed with Ray Meeker and Deborah Smith at the Golden Bridge Pottery. She has been an artist-in-residence at the studios of several well-known ceramicists including Jane Perryman and Ruthanne Tudball in the UK. She has participated in several international symposiums and workshops in the UK, China and South Korea and her work is in several prestigious art collections.

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